Climate averages 1991–2020

Carlisle weather
in May.

A cool, moderately wet month: the 5th warmest and the joint 2nd driest of the year.

Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.

Average high 14.2°C Daytime mean, May

Average low 6.6°C Night-time mean, May

Rainfall 69 mm 13 days with ≥1 mm

Daylight 16 h Sunrise to sunset, per day

May is a cool month in Carlisle: daytime highs average 14.2°C and nights cool to about 6.6°C. By daytime temperature it is the 5th warmest of the 12 months.

Expect about 69 mm of rain on roughly 13 days, which makes May a moderately wet month (the joint 2nd driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 16 h 05 min on an average May day.

The nearest other city in this atlas is Newcastle upon Tyne (85 km away). In May its highs average 13.5°C, 0.6°C cooler than Carlisle, with 48 mm of rain.

Among the 143 cities listed in the United Kingdom, Carlisle ranks joint 117th of 143 for the warmest May highs and joint 123rd of 143 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 143 cities is 15.2°C; Carlisle is 1.0°C cooler than that mean.

From May to June, average highs rise by 2.4°C to 16.5°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 69 mm to 77 mm.

The annual picture

May in context

30-year average

Average highAverage low°C

Monthly rainfall

Average total · mm

Averages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated

Every month, side by side

Carlisle climate table

1991–2020

Monthly climate averages for Carlisle, 1991–2020
Month	Average highHigh / low	Average low	Rainfall mm/month	Rain days ≥1 mm/day	Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day
January	5.9°C1.4°C	1.4°C	95	14.9	7.98 h
February	6.5°C1.3°C	1.3°C	82	13.4	9.610 h
March	8.4°C2.1°C	2.1°C	69	13.1	11.812 h
April	11.1°C3.7°C	3.7°C	66	13.3	14.114 h
May, selected	14.2°C6.6°C	6.6°C	69	13.3	16.116 h
June	16.5°C9.5°C	9.5°C	77	13.9	17.217 h
July	18.2°C11.3°C	11.3°C	81	15.3	16.717 h
August	17.8°C11.2°C	11.2°C	88	15.3	15.015 h
September	15.5°C9.3°C	9.3°C	70	12.5	12.813 h
October	12.1°C6.7°C	6.7°C	90	14.0	10.611 h
November	8.5°C3.7°C	3.7°C	89	14.9	8.58 h
December	6.1°C1.5°C	1.5°C	100	14.8	7.37 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

Distance from Carlisle

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 limits

How these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Carlisle) is explained once on the Carlisle year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.