Climate averages 1991–2020
Leeuwarden weather
in May.
A mild, moderately wet month: the 5th warmest and the 4th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a mild month in Leeuwarden: daytime highs average 15.3°C and nights cool to about 9.3°C. By daytime temperature it is the 5th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 57 mm of rain on roughly 11 days, which makes May a moderately wet month (the 4th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 15 h 49 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Groningen (50 km away). In May its highs average 16.2°C, 0.8°C warmer than Leeuwarden, with 60 mm of rain.
Among the 44 cities listed in the Netherlands, Leeuwarden ranks joint 42nd of 44 for the warmest May highs and joint 3rd of 44 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 44 cities is 16.9°C; Leeuwarden is 1.6°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs rise by 2.6°C to 17.9°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 57 mm to 65 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
Leeuwarden climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.2°C1.8°C | 1.8°C | 65 | 12.9 | 8.18 h |
| February | 5.7°C1.6°C | 1.6°C | 50 | 10.5 | 9.810 h |
| March | 8.3°C3.1°C | 3.1°C | 48 | 10.8 | 11.812 h |
| April | 11.9°C5.7°C | 5.7°C | 41 | 9.2 | 13.914 h |
| May, selected | 15.3°C9.3°C | 9.3°C | 57 | 10.8 | 15.816 h |
| June | 17.9°C12.2°C | 12.2°C | 65 | 11.7 | 16.917 h |
| July | 20.2°C14.6°C | 14.6°C | 78 | 13.2 | 16.416 h |
| August | 20.4°C14.8°C | 14.8°C | 84 | 13.9 | 14.815 h |
| September | 17.5°C12.5°C | 12.5°C | 75 | 12.8 | 12.713 h |
| October | 13.4°C9.1°C | 9.1°C | 75 | 13.8 | 10.611 h |
| November | 9.0°C5.5°C | 5.5°C | 66 | 13.8 | 8.79 h |
| December | 6.1°C2.7°C | 2.7°C | 71 | 13.4 | 7.68 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
- Groningen in MayThe Netherlands · 50 kmHigh 16.2°C · Low 8.7°C · 60 mm rain
- Zwolle in MayThe Netherlands · 79 kmHigh 17.2°C · Low 8.8°C · 64 mm rain
- Lelystad in MayThe Netherlands · 80 kmHigh 16.6°C · Low 9.5°C · 67 mm rain
- Alkmaar in MayThe Netherlands · 95 kmHigh 14.6°C · Low 10.0°C · 50 mm rain
- Purmerend in MayThe Netherlands · 96 kmHigh 16.1°C · Low 9.5°C · 58 mm rain
- Almere Stad in MayThe Netherlands · 101 kmHigh 17.0°C · Low 9.3°C · 63 mm rain
- Zaanstad in MayThe Netherlands · 107 kmHigh 15.4°C · Low 9.8°C · 58 mm rain
- Zaandam in MayThe Netherlands · 108 kmHigh 15.9°C · Low 9.7°C · 58 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 Leeuwarden) is explained once on the Leeuwarden year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.