Average Sunshine for US Cities in May
The tables below pull together figures on the amount of sunshine each of the largest cities in the United States usually has in May.
The % Sun number measures the percentage of time between sunrise and sunset that sunshine reaches the ground. Total Hours is the average number of sunny hours the city normally has this month. Clear Days is the average number of days this month when cloud covers at most 30 percent of the sky during daylight hours.
Hours of sunshine are the means calculated for 1961 to 1990. The other data are averages taken from years of weather watching.
| % Sun | City | Total Hours | Clear Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 68 | Atlanta, Georgia | 289 | 9 |
| 56 | Austin, Texas | 227 | 6 |
| 56 | Baltimore, Maryland | 255 | 8 |
| 66 | Birmingham, Alabama | 283 | 8 |
| 58 | Boston, Massachusetts | 267 | 6 |
| 56 | Buffalo, New York | 258 | 6 |
| 67 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 292 | 8 |
| 58 | Chicago, Illinois | 282 | 7 |
| 57 | Cincinnati, Ohio | 250 | 6 |
| 58 | Cleveland, Ohio | 264 | 6 |
| 56 | Columbus, Ohio | 243 | 6 |
| 57 | Dallas, Texas | 258 | 8 |
| 64 | Denver, Colorado | 290 | 6 |
| 61 | Detroit, Michigan | 276 | 7 |
| 90 | Fresno, California | – | 18 |
| 56 | Grand Rapids, Michigan | – | 7 |
| 57 | Hartford, Connecticut | 259 | 6 |
| 72 | Honolulu, Hawaii | – | 7 |
| 62 | Houston, Texas | 249 | 6 |
| % Sun | City | Total Hours | Clear Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | Indianapolis, Indiana | 265 | 7 |
| 70 | Jacksonville, Florida | 304 | 9 |
| 61 | Kansas City, Missouri | 285 | 8 |
| 88 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 388 | 18 |
| 66 | Los Angeles, California | – | 10 |
| 60 | Louisville, Kentucky | 263 | 8 |
| 69 | Memphis, Tennessee | 302 | 8 |
| 72 | Miami, Florida | 301 | 6 |
| 60 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 276 | 7 |
| 61 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 295 | 7 |
| 60 | Nashville, Tennessee | 262 | 8 |
| 62 | New Orleans, Louisiana | 279 | 9 |
| 61 | New York, New York | 257 | 8 |
| 66 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | 295 | 9 |
| 57 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 245 | 6 |
| 93 | Phoenix, Arizona | 401 | 21 |
| 50 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 217 | 5 |
| % Sun | City | Total Hours | Clear Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | Portland, Oregon | 276 | 5 |
| 58 | Providence, Rhode Island | 255 | 6 |
| 59 | Raleigh, North Carolina | 258 | 8 |
| 66 | Richmond, Virginia | 288 | 7 |
| 59 | Rochester, New York | 267 | 6 |
| 90 | Sacramento, California | 406 | 17 |
| 72 | Salt Lake City, Utah | 322 | 9 |
| 56 | San Antonio, Texas | 222 | 6 |
| 59 | San Diego, California | 251 | 8 |
| 72 | San Francisco, California | – | 14 |
| 56 | Seattle, Washington | 254 | 4 |
| 59 | St. Louis, Missouri | 267 | 7 |
| 75 | Tampa, Florida | 315 | 11 |
| 92 | Tucson, Arizona | – | 20 |
| 60 | Tulsa, Oklahoma | – | 8 |
| 62 | Virginia Beach, Virginia | 272 | 8 |
| 58 | Washington, DC | 261 | 7 |
Reference
National Climatic Data Center. Comparative Climatic Data.
World Data Center for Meteorology. Climate of the World.