Climate averages 1991–2020
Durham weather
in May.
A warm, 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 warm month in Durham: daytime highs average 25.4°C and nights cool to about 14.7°C. By daytime temperature it is the 5th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 88 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 14 h 03 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Cary (25 km away). In May its highs average 25.3°C, about as warm as Durham, with 90 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Durham ranks joint 181st of 498 for the warmest May highs and joint 276th of 498 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 498 cities is 23.8°C; Durham is 1.6°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs rise by 4.0°C to 29.4°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 88 mm to 98 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
Durham climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9.5°C0.1°C | 0.1°C | 92 | 9.4 | 10.010 h |
| February | 11.6°C1.2°C | 1.2°C | 81 | 8.9 | 10.911 h |
| March | 15.8°C4.6°C | 4.6°C | 108 | 10.5 | 11.912 h |
| April | 21.1°C9.7°C | 9.7°C | 89 | 9.3 | 13.113 h |
| May, selected | 25.4°C14.7°C | 14.7°C | 88 | 10.6 | 14.114 h |
| June | 29.4°C19.4°C | 19.4°C | 98 | 12.0 | 14.615 h |
| July | 31.4°C21.9°C | 21.9°C | 110 | 14.9 | 14.314 h |
| August | 30.2°C21.0°C | 21.0°C | 99 | 11.6 | 13.514 h |
| September | 26.9°C17.9°C | 17.9°C | 112 | 9.4 | 12.412 h |
| October | 21.4°C11.6°C | 11.6°C | 79 | 7.5 | 11.311 h |
| November | 15.5°C5.6°C | 5.6°C | 85 | 7.7 | 10.310 h |
| December | 11.1°C1.9°C | 1.9°C | 89 | 9.1 | 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
- Cary in MayUnited States · 25 kmHigh 25.3°C · Low 15.2°C · 90 mm rain
- Raleigh in MayUnited States · 34 kmHigh 25.7°C · Low 15.4°C · 90 mm rain
- Greensboro in MayUnited States · 81 kmHigh 24.9°C · Low 14.1°C · 88 mm rain
- High Point in MayUnited States · 100 kmHigh 24.9°C · Low 14.1°C · 87 mm rain
- Fayetteville in MayUnited States · 105 kmHigh 26.6°C · Low 16.1°C · 84 mm rain
- Winston-Salem in MayUnited States · 122 kmHigh 24.9°C · Low 14.0°C · 84 mm rain
- Greenville in MayUnited States · 145 kmHigh 25.7°C · Low 15.7°C · 94 mm rain
- Lynchburg in MayUnited States · 159 kmHigh 24.0°C · Low 13.6°C · 88 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 Durham) is explained once on the Durham year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.