Climate averages 1991–2020
Madison weather
in May.
A mild, wet month: the 5th warmest and the joint 10th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a mild month in Madison: daytime highs average 19.8°C and nights cool to about 9.6°C. By daytime temperature it is the 5th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 101 mm of rain on roughly 13 days, which makes May a wet month (the joint 10th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 38 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Rockford (93 km away). In May its highs average 20.4°C, 0.6°C warmer than Madison, with 110 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Madison ranks joint 394th of 498 for the warmest May highs and joint 369th of 498 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 498 cities is 23.8°C; Madison is 4.0°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs rise by 5.3°C to 25.1°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 101 mm to 112 mm.
The annual picture
May in context
Monthly precipitation
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
Madison climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -2.9°C-11.6°C | -11.6°C | 41 | 7.6 | 9.49 h |
| February | -0.6°C-9.9°C | -9.9°C | 41 | 6.7 | 10.510 h |
| March | 6.3°C-3.6°C | -3.6°C | 61 | 9.2 | 11.912 h |
| April | 13.2°C2.8°C | 2.8°C | 101 | 12.3 | 13.413 h |
| May, selected | 19.8°C9.6°C | 9.6°C | 101 | 12.5 | 14.615 h |
| June | 25.1°C15.4°C | 15.4°C | 112 | 11.8 | 15.315 h |
| July | 27.1°C17.9°C | 17.9°C | 83 | 10.2 | 15.015 h |
| August | 26.1°C17.2°C | 17.2°C | 95 | 9.8 | 13.914 h |
| September | 22.1°C13.1°C | 13.1°C | 84 | 9.1 | 12.513 h |
| October | 14.8°C6.4°C | 6.4°C | 72 | 8.7 | 11.111 h |
| November | 6.7°C-0.6°C | -0.6°C | 55 | 8.0 | 9.810 h |
| December | -0.1°C-7.4°C | -7.4°C | 48 | 7.5 | 9.19 h |
Precipitation (rain or snow, as water) is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A wet 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
- Rockford in MayUnited States · 93 kmHigh 20.4°C · Low 10.3°C · 110 mm rain
- Waukesha in MayUnited States · 95 kmHigh 18.9°C · Low 9.5°C · 95 mm rain
- Milwaukee in MayUnited States · 122 kmHigh 14.4°C · Low 9.4°C · 91 mm rain
- Racine in MayUnited States · 137 kmHigh 13.8°C · Low 9.6°C · 90 mm rain
- Kenosha in MayUnited States · 140 kmHigh 13.9°C · Low 9.7°C · 96 mm rain
- Elgin in MayUnited States · 147 kmHigh 20.6°C · Low 10.4°C · 118 mm rain
- Waukegan in MayUnited States · 150 kmHigh 14.5°C · Low 10.1°C · 105 mm rain
- Appleton in MayUnited States · 154 kmHigh 18.5°C · Low 8.7°C · 85 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 Madison) is explained once on the Madison year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.