Climate averages 1991–2020
Winston-Salem weather
in May.
A warm, moderately 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 Winston-Salem: daytime highs average 24.9°C and nights cool to about 14.0°C. By daytime temperature it is the 5th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 84 mm of rain on roughly 11 days, which makes May a moderately wet month (the 3rd driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 04 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is High Point (27 km away). In May its highs average 24.9°C, about as warm as Winston-Salem, with 87 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Winston-Salem ranks joint 201st of 498 for the warmest May highs and joint 238th of 498 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 498 cities is 23.8°C; Winston-Salem is 1.1°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs rise by 4.1°C to 29.0°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 84 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
Winston-Salem climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.5°C-0.8°C | -0.8°C | 92 | 9.4 | 10.010 h |
| February | 10.7°C0.4°C | 0.4°C | 83 | 8.9 | 10.811 h |
| March | 14.9°C3.8°C | 3.8°C | 108 | 10.0 | 11.912 h |
| April | 20.4°C8.8°C | 8.8°C | 93 | 9.5 | 13.113 h |
| May, selected | 24.9°C14.0°C | 14.0°C | 84 | 10.9 | 14.114 h |
| June | 29.0°C18.7°C | 18.7°C | 91 | 12.1 | 14.615 h |
| July | 31.1°C21.0°C | 21.0°C | 93 | 14.0 | 14.414 h |
| August | 29.9°C20.2°C | 20.2°C | 91 | 11.8 | 13.514 h |
| September | 26.4°C17.0°C | 17.0°C | 101 | 9.0 | 12.412 h |
| October | 20.8°C10.6°C | 10.6°C | 83 | 7.3 | 11.311 h |
| November | 14.6°C4.6°C | 4.6°C | 85 | 7.7 | 10.310 h |
| December | 10.0°C1.0°C | 1.0°C | 93 | 9.0 | 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
- High Point in MayUnited States · 27 kmHigh 24.9°C · Low 14.1°C · 87 mm rain
- Greensboro in MayUnited States · 41 kmHigh 24.9°C · Low 14.1°C · 88 mm rain
- Concord (North Carolina), United States in MayUnited States · 83 kmHigh 26.0°C · Low 15.3°C · 80 mm rain
- Charlotte in MayUnited States · 111 kmHigh 25.9°C · Low 14.8°C · 76 mm rain
- Durham in MayUnited States · 122 kmHigh 25.4°C · Low 14.7°C · 88 mm rain
- Gastonia in MayUnited States · 126 kmHigh 25.6°C · Low 15.2°C · 79 mm rain
- Roanoke in MayUnited States · 133 kmHigh 23.5°C · Low 12.7°C · 95 mm rain
- Cary in MayUnited States · 136 kmHigh 25.3°C · Low 15.2°C · 90 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 Winston-Salem) is explained once on the Winston-Salem year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.