Climate averages 1991–2020
Mackay weather
in May.
A warm, moderately wet month: the 9th warmest and the 6th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a warm month in Mackay: daytime highs average 23.7°C and nights cool to about 19.4°C. By daytime temperature it is the 9th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 54 mm of rain on roughly 11 days, which makes May a moderately wet month (the 6th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 11 h 07 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Rockhampton (283 km away). In May its highs average 24.8°C, 1.1°C warmer than Mackay, with 29 mm of rain.
Among the 32 cities listed in Australia, Mackay ranks 5th of 32 for the warmest May highs and 19th of 32 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 32 cities is 19.5°C; Mackay is 4.2°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 1.9°C to 21.7°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 54 mm to 43 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
Mackay climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28.2°C24.5°C | 24.5°C | 212 | 15.9 | 13.313 h |
| February | 28.1°C24.5°C | 24.5°C | 225 | 17.4 | 12.813 h |
| March | 27.3°C23.8°C | 23.8°C | 171 | 15.2 | 12.212 h |
| April | 25.7°C22.0°C | 22.0°C | 89 | 13.0 | 11.612 h |
| May, selected | 23.7°C19.4°C | 19.4°C | 54 | 10.6 | 11.111 h |
| June | 21.7°C17.0°C | 17.0°C | 43 | 7.8 | 10.911 h |
| July | 21.1°C15.8°C | 15.8°C | 32 | 4.3 | 11.011 h |
| August | 21.8°C16.4°C | 16.4°C | 25 | 4.3 | 11.411 h |
| September | 23.8°C18.8°C | 18.8°C | 16 | 3.5 | 12.012 h |
| October | 25.5°C21.1°C | 21.1°C | 34 | 5.9 | 12.613 h |
| November | 26.8°C22.8°C | 22.8°C | 64 | 8.3 | 13.113 h |
| December | 28.0°C24.1°C | 24.1°C | 117 | 11.6 | 13.413 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
- Rockhampton in MayAustralia · 283 kmHigh 24.8°C · Low 15.9°C · 29 mm rain
- Townsville in MayAustralia · 324 kmHigh 26.2°C · Low 19.0°C · 29 mm rain
- Bundaberg in MayAustralia · 526 kmHigh 23.5°C · Low 16.0°C · 52 mm rain
- Cairns in MayAustralia · 591 kmHigh 25.6°C · Low 21.2°C · 41 mm rain
- Sunshine Coast in MayAustralia · 730 kmHigh 21.6°C · Low 15.9°C · 77 mm rain
- Caloundra in MayAustralia · 746 kmHigh 21.5°C · Low 15.9°C · 77 mm rain
- Toowoomba in MayAustralia · 766 kmHigh 19.5°C · Low 9.5°C · 37 mm rain
- Sydney in MayAustralia · 1428 kmHigh 18.7°C · Low 12.4°C · 79 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 Mackay) is explained once on the Mackay year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.