Climate averages 1991–2020
Ladysmith weather
in May.
A mild, fairly dry month: the 10th warmest and the 3rd driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a mild month in Ladysmith: daytime highs average 21.8°C and nights cool to about 7.6°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 21 mm of rain on roughly 4 days, which makes May a fairly dry month (the 3rd driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 10 h 43 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Dundee, South Africa (62 km away). In May its highs average 20.9°C, 0.9°C cooler than Ladysmith, with 18 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Ladysmith ranks joint 28th of 95 for the warmest May highs and joint 65th of 95 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 95 cities is 21.0°C; Ladysmith is 0.9°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 2.5°C to 19.4°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 21 mm to 14 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
Ladysmith climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28.0°C16.7°C | 16.7°C | 172 | 18.9 | 13.714 h |
| February | 27.8°C16.7°C | 16.7°C | 143 | 14.7 | 13.113 h |
| March | 26.5°C15.0°C | 15.0°C | 117 | 13.4 | 12.312 h |
| April | 24.0°C11.8°C | 11.8°C | 58 | 7.9 | 11.411 h |
| May, selected | 21.8°C7.6°C | 7.6°C | 21 | 3.5 | 10.711 h |
| June | 19.4°C4.3°C | 4.3°C | 14 | 2.8 | 10.410 h |
| July | 19.4°C3.8°C | 3.8°C | 16 | 2.3 | 10.511 h |
| August | 22.2°C6.5°C | 6.5°C | 28 | 4.4 | 11.111 h |
| September | 25.7°C10.0°C | 10.0°C | 39 | 6.9 | 11.912 h |
| October | 26.3°C12.4°C | 12.4°C | 100 | 13.7 | 12.813 h |
| November | 27.1°C14.1°C | 14.1°C | 137 | 16.7 | 13.514 h |
| December | 27.9°C15.8°C | 15.8°C | 179 | 19.5 | 13.914 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
- Dundee, South Africa in MaySouth Africa · 62 kmHigh 20.9°C · Low 8.7°C · 18 mm rain
- Newcastle, South Africa in MaySouth Africa · 90 kmHigh 20.7°C · Low 7.4°C · 17 mm rain
- Phuthaditjhaba in MaySouth Africa · 94 kmHigh 17.6°C · Low 4.3°C · 25 mm rain
- Pietermaritzburg in MaySouth Africa · 132 kmHigh 22.6°C · Low 10.1°C · 29 mm rain
- Vryheid in MaySouth Africa · 132 kmHigh 21.3°C · Low 8.1°C · 19 mm rain
- Bethlehem, South Africa in MaySouth Africa · 149 kmHigh 18.2°C · Low 5.3°C · 25 mm rain
- Mpumalanga in MaySouth Africa · 162 kmHigh 22.4°C · Low 10.4°C · 33 mm rain
- KwaDukuza in MaySouth Africa · 170 kmHigh 24.0°C · Low 15.7°C · 44 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 Ladysmith) is explained once on the Ladysmith year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.