Climate averages 1991–2020
New Orleans weather
in May.
A warm, wet month: the 5th warmest and the 3rd driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a warm month in New Orleans: daytime highs average 27.7°C and nights cool to about 21.1°C. By daytime temperature it is the 5th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 91 mm of rain on roughly 9 days, which makes May a wet month (the 3rd driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 13 h 38 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Metairie (8 km away). In May its highs average 28.0°C, about as warm as New Orleans, with 93 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, New Orleans ranks joint 106th of 498 for the warmest May highs and joint 305th of 498 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 498 cities is 23.8°C; New Orleans is 3.9°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs rise by 2.5°C to 30.1°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 91 mm to 131 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
New Orleans climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15.9°C9.1°C | 9.1°C | 113 | 9.7 | 10.510 h |
| February | 17.8°C10.7°C | 10.7°C | 108 | 8.9 | 11.111 h |
| March | 20.6°C13.6°C | 13.6°C | 114 | 9.4 | 12.012 h |
| April | 23.9°C17.1°C | 17.1°C | 99 | 8.4 | 12.913 h |
| May, selected | 27.7°C21.1°C | 21.1°C | 91 | 9.2 | 13.614 h |
| June | 30.1°C24.3°C | 24.3°C | 131 | 15.0 | 14.014 h |
| July | 30.8°C25.4°C | 25.4°C | 143 | 17.9 | 13.914 h |
| August | 30.7°C25.4°C | 25.4°C | 159 | 17.3 | 13.213 h |
| September | 28.9°C23.5°C | 23.5°C | 123 | 12.8 | 12.412 h |
| October | 25.2°C18.9°C | 18.9°C | 88 | 8.0 | 11.511 h |
| November | 20.4°C13.6°C | 13.6°C | 83 | 7.3 | 10.711 h |
| December | 17.1°C10.5°C | 10.5°C | 96 | 9.2 | 10.310 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
- Metairie in MayUnited States · 8 kmHigh 28.0°C · Low 21.2°C · 93 mm rain
- Gulfport in MayUnited States · 105 kmHigh 27.1°C · Low 20.8°C · 96 mm rain
- Baton Rouge in MayUnited States · 120 kmHigh 28.9°C · Low 19.5°C · 105 mm rain
- Lafayette (Louisiana), United States in MayUnited States · 189 kmHigh 28.9°C · Low 20.0°C · 92 mm rain
- Mobile in MayUnited States · 212 kmHigh 27.7°C · Low 19.7°C · 87 mm rain
- Jackson in MayUnited States · 261 kmHigh 28.1°C · Low 17.3°C · 104 mm rain
- Lake Charles in MayUnited States · 302 kmHigh 28.6°C · Low 20.2°C · 101 mm rain
- Beaumont in MayUnited States · 388 kmHigh 28.4°C · Low 20.3°C · 97 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 New Orleans) is explained once on the New Orleans year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.