Climate averages 1991–2020
Orkney weather
in May.
A mild, fairly dry month: the 10th warmest and the 5th 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 Orkney: daytime highs average 21.5°C and nights cool to about 7.0°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 19 mm of rain on roughly 3 days, which makes May a fairly dry month (the 5th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 10 h 48 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Klerksdorp (14 km away). In May its highs average 21.4°C, about as warm as Orkney, with 18 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Orkney ranks joint 34th of 95 for the warmest May highs and joint 53rd of 95 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 95 cities is 21.0°C; Orkney is 0.5°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 2.8°C to 18.6°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 19 mm to 9.9 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
Orkney climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29.0°C17.2°C | 17.2°C | 97 | 14.4 | 13.614 h |
| February | 28.3°C16.7°C | 16.7°C | 77 | 12.4 | 13.013 h |
| March | 26.9°C14.9°C | 14.9°C | 68 | 10.8 | 12.312 h |
| April | 24.0°C11.3°C | 11.3°C | 40 | 6.9 | 11.511 h |
| May, selected | 21.5°C7.0°C | 7.0°C | 19 | 3.1 | 10.811 h |
| June | 18.6°C3.5°C | 3.5°C | 9.9 | 1.5 | 10.510 h |
| July | 18.8°C2.9°C | 2.9°C | 4.6 | 0.9 | 10.611 h |
| August | 22.1°C5.7°C | 5.7°C | 12 | 1.7 | 11.211 h |
| September | 26.6°C10.1°C | 10.1°C | 15 | 3.0 | 11.912 h |
| October | 28.3°C13.2°C | 13.2°C | 60 | 9.4 | 12.713 h |
| November | 28.7°C14.8°C | 14.8°C | 73 | 11.2 | 13.413 h |
| December | 29.1°C16.6°C | 16.6°C | 98 | 14.8 | 13.814 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
- Klerksdorp in MaySouth Africa · 14 kmHigh 21.4°C · Low 7.2°C · 18 mm rain
- Stilfontein in MaySouth Africa · 18 kmHigh 21.3°C · Low 6.9°C · 18 mm rain
- Bothaville in MaySouth Africa · 46 kmHigh 21.4°C · Low 6.8°C · 19 mm rain
- Potchefstroom in MaySouth Africa · 52 kmHigh 21.4°C · Low 7.4°C · 19 mm rain
- Parys in MaySouth Africa · 78 kmHigh 20.8°C · Low 7.0°C · 20 mm rain
- Kroonstad in MaySouth Africa · 93 kmHigh 20.2°C · Low 6.4°C · 20 mm rain
- Kutloanong in MaySouth Africa · 95 kmHigh 20.7°C · Low 6.6°C · 20 mm rain
- Odendaalsrus in MaySouth Africa · 99 kmHigh 20.5°C · Low 6.6°C · 20 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 Orkney) is explained once on the Orkney year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.