Climate averages 1991–2020
Phalaborwa weather
in May.
A warm, very dry month: the 9th warmest and the 4th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a warm month in Phalaborwa: daytime highs average 26.4°C and nights cool to about 14.3°C. By daytime temperature it is the 9th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 8.9 mm of rain on roughly 2 days, which makes May a very dry month (the 4th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 10 h 59 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Thohoyandou (130 km away). In May its highs average 23.7°C, 2.7°C cooler than Phalaborwa, with 24 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Phalaborwa ranks 1st of 95 for the warmest May highs and 2nd of 95 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 95 cities is 21.0°C; Phalaborwa is 5.4°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 2.0°C to 24.3°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 8.9 mm to 3.7 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
Phalaborwa climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30.5°C21.0°C | 21.0°C | 93 | 9.3 | 13.413 h |
| February | 30.7°C21.1°C | 21.1°C | 69 | 8.0 | 12.913 h |
| March | 30.0°C20.2°C | 20.2°C | 43 | 6.4 | 12.212 h |
| April | 28.0°C17.6°C | 17.6°C | 20 | 3.8 | 11.512 h |
| May, selected | 26.4°C14.3°C | 14.3°C | 8.9 | 1.7 | 11.011 h |
| June | 24.3°C11.6°C | 11.6°C | 3.7 | 0.8 | 10.711 h |
| July | 23.9°C11.0°C | 11.0°C | 4.5 | 0.6 | 10.811 h |
| August | 26.2°C12.8°C | 12.8°C | 3.8 | 1.0 | 11.311 h |
| September | 28.8°C15.5°C | 15.5°C | 11 | 2.0 | 11.912 h |
| October | 29.5°C17.5°C | 17.5°C | 24 | 4.0 | 12.613 h |
| November | 30.1°C19.2°C | 19.2°C | 62 | 7.9 | 13.313 h |
| December | 30.7°C20.5°C | 20.5°C | 93 | 9.8 | 13.614 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
- Thohoyandou in MaySouth Africa · 130 kmHigh 23.7°C · Low 12.7°C · 24 mm rain
- Louis Trichardt in MaySouth Africa · 161 kmHigh 23.7°C · Low 12.3°C · 10 mm rain
- Polokwane in MaySouth Africa · 170 kmHigh 21.7°C · Low 10.2°C · 11 mm rain
- Mbombela in MaySouth Africa · 171 kmHigh 23.8°C · Low 10.6°C · 19 mm rain
- Ressano Garcia in MayMozambique · 188 kmHigh 27.2°C · Low 16.1°C · 14 mm rain
- Mokopane in MaySouth Africa · 218 kmHigh 23.5°C · Low 11.2°C · 8.6 mm rain
- Chibuto in MayMozambique · 256 kmHigh 26.1°C · Low 17.0°C · 17 mm rain
- Matola in MayMozambique · 261 kmHigh 25.8°C · Low 17.4°C · 23 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 Phalaborwa) is explained once on the Phalaborwa year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.