Climate averages 1991–2020
Cincinnati weather
in May.
A warm, wet month: the 5th warmest and the 11th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a warm month in Cincinnati: daytime highs average 22.4°C and nights cool to about 12.5°C. By daytime temperature it is the 5th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 117 mm of rain on roughly 13 days, which makes May a wet month (the 11th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 18 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Dayton (76 km away). In May its highs average 22.0°C, about as warm as Cincinnati, with 116 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Cincinnati ranks joint 281st of 498 for the warmest May highs and joint 432nd of 498 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 498 cities is 23.8°C; Cincinnati is 1.4°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs rise by 4.5°C to 27.0°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 117 mm to 106 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
Cincinnati climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.5°C-4.8°C | -4.8°C | 83 | 10.1 | 9.810 h |
| February | 5.9°C-3.5°C | -3.5°C | 75 | 9.1 | 10.711 h |
| March | 11.2°C1.0°C | 1.0°C | 105 | 10.9 | 11.912 h |
| April | 17.7°C6.8°C | 6.8°C | 118 | 12.2 | 13.213 h |
| May, selected | 22.4°C12.5°C | 12.5°C | 117 | 13.0 | 14.314 h |
| June | 27.0°C17.3°C | 17.3°C | 106 | 12.1 | 14.915 h |
| July | 28.9°C19.5°C | 19.5°C | 88 | 11.3 | 14.615 h |
| August | 28.5°C18.9°C | 18.9°C | 75 | 9.8 | 13.714 h |
| September | 25.0°C15.2°C | 15.2°C | 68 | 7.9 | 12.512 h |
| October | 18.4°C8.9°C | 8.9°C | 75 | 8.2 | 11.211 h |
| November | 11.3°C2.8°C | 2.8°C | 84 | 8.9 | 10.110 h |
| December | 5.6°C-1.9°C | -1.9°C | 92 | 10.2 | 9.59 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
- Dayton in MayUnited States · 76 kmHigh 22.0°C · Low 12.3°C · 116 mm rain
- Lexington in MayUnited States · 127 kmHigh 23.0°C · Low 13.2°C · 121 mm rain
- Muncie in MayUnited States · 140 kmHigh 21.4°C · Low 11.5°C · 114 mm rain
- Louisville in MayUnited States · 145 kmHigh 23.9°C · Low 13.9°C · 128 mm rain
- Indianapolis in MayUnited States · 158 kmHigh 22.0°C · Low 12.4°C · 122 mm rain
- Fishers in MayUnited States · 158 kmHigh 21.8°C · Low 12.0°C · 118 mm rain
- Columbus in MayUnited States · 160 kmHigh 21.8°C · Low 11.6°C · 113 mm rain
- Carmel in MayUnited States · 167 kmHigh 21.7°C · Low 12.1°C · 118 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 Cincinnati) is explained once on the Cincinnati year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.