Climate averages 1991–2020
San José weather
in May.
A warm, very wet month: the 4th warmest and the 9th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a warm month in San José: daytime highs average 25.0°C and nights cool to about 18.6°C. By daytime temperature it is the 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 357 mm of rain on roughly 28 days, which makes May a very wet month (the 9th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 34 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is David (247 km away). In May its highs average 29.1°C, 4.2°C warmer than San José, with 450 mm of rain.
From May to June, average highs fall by 0.5°C to 24.4°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 357 mm to 385 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
San José climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24.6°C16.8°C | 16.8°C | 104 | 13.3 | 11.612 h |
| February | 25.7°C16.9°C | 16.9°C | 69 | 11.9 | 11.812 h |
| March | 26.6°C17.4°C | 17.4°C | 65 | 13.9 | 12.112 h |
| April | 26.5°C18.1°C | 18.1°C | 102 | 18.0 | 12.312 h |
| May, selected | 25.0°C18.6°C | 18.6°C | 357 | 27.8 | 12.613 h |
| June | 24.4°C18.6°C | 18.6°C | 385 | 28.8 | 12.713 h |
| July | 24.2°C18.3°C | 18.3°C | 293 | 28.2 | 12.613 h |
| August | 24.3°C18.2°C | 18.2°C | 345 | 28.5 | 12.412 h |
| September | 24.2°C18.1°C | 18.1°C | 391 | 29.1 | 12.212 h |
| October | 23.7°C18.1°C | 18.1°C | 430 | 30.1 | 11.912 h |
| November | 23.4°C17.9°C | 17.9°C | 312 | 25.5 | 11.712 h |
| December | 23.8°C17.3°C | 17.3°C | 169 | 17.8 | 11.612 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
- David in MayPanama · 247 kmHigh 29.1°C · Low 22.6°C · 450 mm rain
- Granada, Nicaragua in MayNicaragua · 302 kmHigh 31.0°C · Low 25.0°C · 175 mm rain
- Masaya in MayNicaragua · 316 kmHigh 30.9°C · Low 23.9°C · 175 mm rain
- Managua in MayNicaragua · 340 kmHigh 33.3°C · Low 25.0°C · 146 mm rain
- Matagalpa in MayNicaragua · 388 kmHigh 29.3°C · Low 21.1°C · 196 mm rain
- León, Nicaragua in MayNicaragua · 413 kmHigh 31.6°C · Low 25.2°C · 281 mm rain
- Estelí in MayNicaragua · 430 kmHigh 29.4°C · Low 20.9°C · 231 mm rain
- Chinandega in MayNicaragua · 447 kmHigh 31.8°C · Low 25.5°C · 266 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 San José) is explained once on the San José year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.