Climate averages 1991–2020
Roanoke weather
in May.
A warm, wet month: the 5th warmest and the 10th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a warm month in Roanoke: daytime highs average 23.5°C and nights cool to about 12.7°C. By daytime temperature it is the 5th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 95 mm of rain on roughly 12 days, which makes May a wet month (the 10th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 09 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Lynchburg (72 km away). In May its highs average 24.0°C, 0.5°C warmer than Roanoke, with 88 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Roanoke ranks joint 251st of 498 for the warmest May highs and joint 330th of 498 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 498 cities is 23.8°C; Roanoke is 0.3°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs rise by 4.3°C to 27.8°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 95 mm to 91 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
Roanoke climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.9°C-2.1°C | -2.1°C | 83 | 8.6 | 9.910 h |
| February | 9.0°C-1.1°C | -1.1°C | 75 | 8.5 | 10.811 h |
| March | 13.5°C2.5°C | 2.5°C | 102 | 10.6 | 11.912 h |
| April | 19.3°C7.4°C | 7.4°C | 90 | 10.2 | 13.113 h |
| May, selected | 23.5°C12.7°C | 12.7°C | 95 | 12.3 | 14.114 h |
| June | 27.8°C17.4°C | 17.4°C | 91 | 11.7 | 14.715 h |
| July | 30.0°C19.8°C | 19.8°C | 83 | 11.6 | 14.514 h |
| August | 29.1°C19.1°C | 19.1°C | 76 | 9.8 | 13.614 h |
| September | 25.5°C15.7°C | 15.7°C | 102 | 9.3 | 12.512 h |
| October | 19.8°C9.4°C | 9.4°C | 79 | 7.2 | 11.311 h |
| November | 13.5°C3.6°C | 3.6°C | 76 | 7.5 | 10.210 h |
| December | 8.5°C-0.2°C | -0.2°C | 84 | 8.3 | 9.710 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
- Lynchburg in MayUnited States · 72 kmHigh 24.0°C · Low 13.6°C · 88 mm rain
- Winston-Salem in MayUnited States · 133 kmHigh 24.9°C · Low 14.0°C · 84 mm rain
- Greensboro in MayUnited States · 134 kmHigh 24.9°C · Low 14.1°C · 88 mm rain
- High Point in MayUnited States · 146 kmHigh 24.9°C · Low 14.1°C · 87 mm rain
- Durham in MayUnited States · 170 kmHigh 25.4°C · Low 14.7°C · 88 mm rain
- Cary in MayUnited States · 194 kmHigh 25.3°C · Low 15.2°C · 90 mm rain
- Raleigh in MayUnited States · 203 kmHigh 25.7°C · Low 15.4°C · 90 mm rain
- Concord (North Carolina), United States in MayUnited States · 215 kmHigh 26.0°C · Low 15.3°C · 80 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 Roanoke) is explained once on the Roanoke year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.