Australia

Cairns in May: weather, sea & travel advice

This month's data profile

Rain shapes the decision

Cairns in May is climatically well suited to beach holidays, city breaks and family holidays. The average daily high is around 24 °C, and the sea is about 26 °C. With about 16 rainy days it is very wet.

Historical monthly averages, not a weather forecast. Individual days and years can differ substantially.

Rank among 12 monthly averages

72/100 · #6

Warmth

Dryness

Sun

#10

Sea warmth

Published best categories: none

Cairns · MayPhoto: Ank Kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0

Average high: 24 °C
Average low: 18 °C
Sea: 26 °C
Rainy days (est.): 16 rainy days (est.)
Sun (est.): 5 h/day
Humidity: 86 %

Climate evidence with direct month comparison

The highlighted row is the selected month. Precipitation total and rainy days are separate monthly averages.

Climate averages for Cairns: selected and adjacent months
Month	Avg high °C	Avg low °C	Rainy days (est.)	Precipitation mm	Sun h/day (est.)	Humidity %	Wind m/s	Sea °C	Score
April	26	20	19	198	6.1	87	1.9	27	66
May (selected)	24	18	16	104	5.3	86	1.8	26	72
June	23	17	10	59	4.9	84	1.7	24	80

How do the previous and next months compare?

Baseline: May (72/100)

Positive and negative values show the change from the selected month.

	Score Δ	Average high Δ	Average low Δ	Rainy days Δ	Rain Δ	Sun Δ	Humidity Δ	Wind Δ	Sea Δ
April	-6	+1.5 °C	+1.9 °C	+3.6	+93.9 mm	+0.8 h	+1.4 %	+0.1 m/s	+1.7 °C
June	+8	-1.1 °C	-1.8 °C	-5.3	-45.7 mm	-0.4 h	-1.8 %	-0.1 m/s	-1.3 °C

All twelve months in context

JanLimited57 FebLimited59 MarLimited62 AprGood66 MayGood72 JunExcellent80 JulExcellent81 AugExcellent87 SepExcellent90 OctExcellent83 NovGood72 DecLimited60

Rainy days (estimated)

Sunshine hours (estimated)h/day

Average daily high°C

Sea temperature°C

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Useful next decisions

Cairns · Month by month

Rio de Janeiro · May Búzios · May Gold Coast · May Fiji · May

Frequently asked questions

How warm is Cairns in May?

The average daily high is around 24 °C, with an average daily low of about 18 °C.

Can you swim in Cairns in May?

The sea is about 26 °C (warm).

Does it rain a lot in Cairns in May?

The curated estimate is about 16 rainy days per month, not a directly measured long-term average. Total precipitation averages around 104 mm for the month. A rainy day does not mean all-day rain.

When is the best time to visit Cairns?

By the climate score, July, August, September and October are the strongest months for Cairns. For a beach trip: August, September, October and November. May is not among them.