Climate averages 1991–2020
Cartagena weather
in May.
A hot, very wet month: the joint 5th warmest and the 8th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a hot month in Cartagena: daytime highs average 30.3°C and nights cool to about 25.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the joint 5th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 181 mm of rain on roughly 26 days, which makes May a very wet month (the 8th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 36 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Sabanalarga (68 km away). In May its highs average 30.5°C, about as warm as Cartagena, with 208 mm of rain.
Among the 46 cities listed in Colombia, Cartagena ranks joint 5th of 46 for the warmest May highs and joint 15th of 46 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 46 cities is 25.9°C; Cartagena is 4.4°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 0.1°C to 30.2°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 181 mm to 176 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
Cartagena climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31.9°C24.5°C | 24.5°C | 9.0 | 2.3 | 11.612 h |
| February | 33.4°C25.0°C | 25.0°C | 6.3 | 1.7 | 11.812 h |
| March | 33.4°C25.2°C | 25.2°C | 19 | 4.4 | 12.112 h |
| April | 32.1°C25.4°C | 25.4°C | 75 | 15.6 | 12.412 h |
| May, selected | 30.3°C25.2°C | 25.2°C | 181 | 26.1 | 12.613 h |
| June | 30.2°C25.2°C | 25.2°C | 176 | 25.4 | 12.713 h |
| July | 30.3°C25.1°C | 25.1°C | 157 | 25.0 | 12.713 h |
| August | 30.1°C25.1°C | 25.1°C | 186 | 27.6 | 12.512 h |
| September | 29.5°C24.8°C | 24.8°C | 210 | 28.4 | 12.212 h |
| October | 29.1°C24.4°C | 24.4°C | 265 | 29.2 | 11.912 h |
| November | 29.1°C24.3°C | 24.3°C | 201 | 24.4 | 11.712 h |
| December | 30.1°C24.5°C | 24.5°C | 61 | 10.8 | 11.512 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
- Sabanalarga in MayColombia · 68 kmHigh 30.5°C · Low 24.8°C · 208 mm rain
- Soledad in MayColombia · 98 kmHigh 29.9°C · Low 25.8°C · 166 mm rain
- Barranquilla in MayColombia · 100 kmHigh 29.2°C · Low 26.0°C · 166 mm rain
- Sincelejo in MayColombia · 122 kmHigh 29.1°C · Low 23.1°C · 292 mm rain
- Magangué in MayColombia · 152 kmHigh 30.2°C · Low 25.0°C · 288 mm rain
- Ciénaga in MayColombia · 152 kmHigh 29.1°C · Low 24.7°C · 305 mm rain
- Santa Marta in MayColombia · 170 kmHigh 28.1°C · Low 25.3°C · 128 mm rain
- Cereté in MayColombia · 171 kmHigh 30.2°C · Low 23.9°C · 262 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 Cartagena) is explained once on the Cartagena year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.