Climate averages 1991–2020
Kisumu weather
in May.
A warm, very wet month: the 10th warmest and the 10th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a warm month in Kisumu: daytime highs average 26.8°C and nights cool to about 18.1°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 206 mm of rain on roughly 26 days, which makes May a very wet month (the 10th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 07 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Khwisero (36 km away). In May its highs average 24.7°C, 2.1°C cooler than Kisumu, with 237 mm of rain.
Among the 37 cities listed in Kenya, Kisumu ranks joint 12th of 37 for the warmest May highs and 29th of 37 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 37 cities is 25.2°C; Kisumu is 1.6°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 0.2°C to 26.7°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 206 mm to 103 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
Kisumu climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28.8°C18.3°C | 18.3°C | 116 | 15.7 | 12.112 h |
| February | 30.0°C18.8°C | 18.8°C | 89 | 13.2 | 12.112 h |
| March | 29.2°C18.8°C | 18.8°C | 182 | 20.2 | 12.112 h |
| April | 27.3°C18.5°C | 18.5°C | 281 | 27.0 | 12.112 h |
| May, selected | 26.8°C18.1°C | 18.1°C | 206 | 26.3 | 12.112 h |
| June | 26.7°C17.9°C | 17.9°C | 103 | 20.7 | 12.112 h |
| July | 26.6°C17.9°C | 17.9°C | 92 | 18.1 | 12.112 h |
| August | 27.2°C18.0°C | 18.0°C | 100 | 19.2 | 12.112 h |
| September | 28.2°C18.2°C | 18.2°C | 106 | 19.5 | 12.112 h |
| October | 27.9°C18.4°C | 18.4°C | 194 | 25.5 | 12.112 h |
| November | 27.4°C18.1°C | 18.1°C | 247 | 25.0 | 12.112 h |
| December | 27.9°C17.9°C | 17.9°C | 179 | 20.7 | 12.112 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
- Khwisero in MayKenya · 36 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 16.1°C · 237 mm rain
- Kakamega in MayKenya · 43 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 14.7°C · 194 mm rain
- Kisii in MayKenya · 64 kmHigh 24.5°C · Low 15.3°C · 176 mm rain
- Eldoret in MayKenya · 89 kmHigh 22.4°C · Low 13.0°C · 245 mm rain
- Busia in MayKenya · 96 kmHigh 25.6°C · Low 17.0°C · 276 mm rain
- Migori in MayKenya · 112 kmHigh 26.2°C · Low 17.0°C · 151 mm rain
- Kitale in MayKenya · 127 kmHigh 20.1°C · Low 12.1°C · 220 mm rain
- Tarime in MayTanzania · 146 kmHigh 26.4°C · Low 16.2°C · 82 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 Kisumu) is explained once on the Kisumu year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.