Queenstown weather in May
Temperature, sea and sunshine in May: long-term averages from 30 years of weather data, not a forecast.
Holiday weather in May
Poor
Best time to visit: December – March
Best for skiing: July – September
What is the weather like in Queenstown in May?
In May, Queenstown is cold: daytime highs average 9 °C, and nights cool down to about 4 °C. The sun is scarce, with only about 4 hours a day. Rain is frequent, with about 13 rainy days and 103 mm in total. Snow falls on about 3 days. All in all, May is not an ideal month for a holiday in Queenstown.
May compared
How the weather changes from April to June. Tap a month to open it.
More details for May
- Daylight
- 9 h 32 min07:55 – 17:28
- UV index
- 1 · lowclear sky, noon (estimate)
- Muggy days
- 0 daysdew point 18 °C or more
- Wind
- 9 km/haverage daily peak
- Cloud cover
- 77 %on average
- Hot days
- 0 days30 °C or more
- Snow days
- 3 days1 cm or more of fresh snow
- Time zone
- UTC+12Pacific/Auckland
How the score comes together
- Temperatureweight 50 %33 %
- Sunshineweight 20 %10 %
- Few rainy daysweight 30 %36 %
Each factor is rated from 0 to 100 % and weighted for the travel style “Mountain air”.
What to pack in May
- Warm jacket
- Hat, scarf & gloves
- Rain jacket or umbrella
Queenstown in May: quick answers
Is Queenstown hot in May?
No. In May, Queenstown is cold: daytime highs average 9 °C and nights drop to about 4 °C.
Does it rain much in Queenstown in May?
Rain is frequent, with about 13 rainy days and 103 mm in total.
Queenstown month by month
The whole year in QueenstownAll destinations: New Zealand
Climate averages 1996–2025, not a forecast. Data: Copernicus ERA5 / ERA5-Land via Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0), NOAA OISST, GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)