Climate averages 1991–2020
Asheville weather
in May.
A warm, wet month: the 5th warmest and the 5th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a warm month in Asheville: daytime highs average 22.3°C and nights cool to about 11.7°C. By daytime temperature it is the 5th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 90 mm of rain on roughly 12 days, which makes May a wet month (the 5th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 01 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Gastonia (129 km away). In May its highs average 25.6°C, 3.3°C warmer than Asheville, with 79 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Asheville ranks joint 284th of 498 for the warmest May highs and joint 293rd of 498 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 498 cities is 23.8°C; Asheville is 1.4°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs rise by 3.6°C to 26.0°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 90 mm to 95 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
Asheville climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.1°C-2.6°C | -2.6°C | 96 | 10.1 | 10.010 h |
| February | 9.3°C-1.0°C | -1.0°C | 84 | 9.4 | 10.911 h |
| March | 13.3°C2.4°C | 2.4°C | 106 | 11.2 | 11.912 h |
| April | 18.6°C6.9°C | 6.9°C | 93 | 10.1 | 13.113 h |
| May, selected | 22.3°C11.7°C | 11.7°C | 90 | 11.5 | 14.014 h |
| June | 26.0°C16.1°C | 16.1°C | 95 | 14.0 | 14.515 h |
| July | 27.8°C18.1°C | 18.1°C | 99 | 15.6 | 14.314 h |
| August | 27.1°C17.7°C | 17.7°C | 105 | 14.3 | 13.514 h |
| September | 24.2°C14.8°C | 14.8°C | 95 | 9.6 | 12.412 h |
| October | 18.9°C8.5°C | 8.5°C | 79 | 7.4 | 11.311 h |
| November | 13.0°C2.7°C | 2.7°C | 85 | 8.0 | 10.310 h |
| December | 8.6°C-0.7°C | -0.7°C | 89 | 8.9 | 9.810 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
- Gastonia in MayUnited States · 129 kmHigh 25.6°C · Low 15.2°C · 79 mm rain
- Knoxville in MayUnited States · 130 kmHigh 24.1°C · Low 13.8°C · 94 mm rain
- Rock Hill in MayUnited States · 158 kmHigh 26.2°C · Low 15.7°C · 73 mm rain
- Charlotte in MayUnited States · 161 kmHigh 25.9°C · Low 14.8°C · 76 mm rain
- Concord (North Carolina), United States in MayUnited States · 180 kmHigh 26.0°C · Low 15.3°C · 80 mm rain
- Athens, United States in MayUnited States · 197 kmHigh 26.6°C · Low 15.8°C · 84 mm rain
- Winston-Salem in MayUnited States · 215 kmHigh 24.9°C · Low 14.0°C · 84 mm rain
- Columbia (South Carolina), United States in MayUnited States · 226 kmHigh 27.6°C · Low 16.3°C · 76 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 Asheville) is explained once on the Asheville year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.