Climate averages 1991–2020
Canberra weather
in May.
A cool, fairly dry month: the 9th warmest and the 2nd driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a cool month in Canberra: daytime highs average 14.3°C and nights cool to about 4.3°C. By daytime temperature it is the 9th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 28 mm of rain on roughly 4 days, which makes May a fairly dry month (the 2nd driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 10 h 18 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Tuggeranong (16 km away). In May its highs average 14.2°C, about as warm as Canberra, with 34 mm of rain.
Among the 32 cities listed in Australia, Canberra ranks 27th of 32 for the warmest May highs and 2nd of 32 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 32 cities is 19.5°C; Canberra is 5.2°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 3.4°C to 10.9°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 28 mm to 52 mm.
The annual picture
May in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Canberra climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26.7°C14.3°C | 14.3°C | 48 | 6.5 | 14.214 h |
| February | 25.2°C13.9°C | 13.9°C | 52 | 6.0 | 13.413 h |
| March | 22.5°C11.7°C | 11.7°C | 38 | 5.3 | 12.312 h |
| April | 18.5°C8.0°C | 8.0°C | 27 | 3.9 | 11.211 h |
| May, selected | 14.3°C4.3°C | 4.3°C | 28 | 4.3 | 10.310 h |
| June | 10.9°C2.5°C | 2.5°C | 52 | 6.9 | 9.810 h |
| July | 10.0°C1.3°C | 1.3°C | 37 | 6.7 | 10.010 h |
| August | 11.4°C1.6°C | 1.6°C | 49 | 7.5 | 10.811 h |
| September | 14.9°C4.0°C | 4.0°C | 51 | 7.3 | 11.812 h |
| October | 18.5°C6.8°C | 6.8°C | 56 | 7.3 | 13.013 h |
| November | 21.5°C9.8°C | 9.8°C | 58 | 8.3 | 13.914 h |
| December | 24.3°C12.1°C | 12.1°C | 55 | 6.9 | 14.514 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
May in nearby cities
- Tuggeranong in MayAustralia · 16 kmHigh 14.2°C · Low 4.4°C · 34 mm rain
- Wollongong in MayAustralia · 187 kmHigh 18.3°C · Low 13.5°C · 97 mm rain
- Blue Mountains in MayAustralia · 206 kmHigh 13.3°C · Low 4.6°C · 48 mm rain
- Sydney in MayAustralia · 247 kmHigh 18.7°C · Low 12.4°C · 79 mm rain
- Central Coast in MayAustralia · 291 kmHigh 18.8°C · Low 13.8°C · 70 mm rain
- Newcastle, Australia in MayAustralia · 358 kmHigh 18.9°C · Low 13.8°C · 94 mm rain
- Maitland in MayAustralia · 361 kmHigh 19.5°C · Low 11.3°C · 47 mm rain
- Bendigo in MayAustralia · 466 kmHigh 15.6°C · Low 7.9°C · 39 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Canberra) is explained once on the Canberra year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.