May Weather in McMurdo Station Antarctica

Daily high temperatures are around -2°F, rarely falling below -17°F or exceeding 14°F.

Daily low temperatures are around -11°F, rarely falling below -24°F or exceeding 3°F.

For reference, on January 5, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in McMurdo Station typically range from 25°F to 33°F, while on August 10, the coldest day of the year, they range from -18°F to -9°F.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average temperatures for the quarter of the year centered on May. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Barrow, United States (10,421 miles away); Clyde River, Canada (11,346 miles); and Tiksi, Russia (10,455 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to McMurdo Station (view comparison).

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The month of May in McMurdo Station experiences essentially constant cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy remaining about 59% throughout the month.

The clearest day of the month is May 1, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 42% of the time.

For reference, on August 4, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 70%, while on December 13, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 58%.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In McMurdo Station, the chance of a wet day over the course of May is essentially constant, remaining around 1% throughout.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 3% on February 10, and its lowest chance is 0% on August 4.

Due to its extreme latitude, McMurdo Station experiences polar day (also known as the midnight Sun) during the summer and polar night during the winter. These are periods of time in which the sun is continuously above or below the horizon for more than one day. The precise start and end dates of polar day and night vary from year to year and depend on the precise location and elevation of the observer, and the local topography.

In the winter in McMurdo Station during 2024, the Sun is continuously below the horizon for 3.8 months, setting at 12:59 PM on April 24, and not rising again until 12:04 PM on August 19. As such, the sun is continuously below the horizon for the entire month of May.

Daylight saving time is observed in McMurdo Station during 2024, but it neither starts nor ends during May, so the entire month is in daylight saving time.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for May 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases. The label associated with each bar indicates the date and time that the phase is obtained, and the companion time labels indicate the rise and set times of the Moon for the nearest time interval in which the moon is above the horizon.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The chance that a given day will be muggy in McMurdo Station is essentially constant during May, remaining around 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in McMurdo Station is increasing during May, increasing from 13.4 miles per hour to 15.0 miles per hour over the course of the month.

For reference, on June 1, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 15.0 miles per hour, while on December 29, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 7.6 miles per hour.

The hourly average wind direction in McMurdo Station throughout May is predominantly from the south, with a peak proportion of 65% on May 31.

McMurdo Station is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average surface water temperature in McMurdo Station is essentially constant during May, remaining around 29°F throughout.

The lowest average surface water temperature during May is 29°F on May 19.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures in McMurdo Station are sufficiently cold year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

The average accumulated growing degree days in McMurdo Station are essentially constant during May, remaining around 0°F throughout.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy in McMurdo Station is essentially constant during May, remaining around 0.0 kWh throughout.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of McMurdo Station are -77.846 deg latitude, 166.676 deg longitude, and 446 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of McMurdo Station contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 965 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 214 feet. Within 10 miles also contains very significant variations in elevation (1,342 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (12,244 feet).

The area within 2 miles of McMurdo Station is covered by artificial surfaces (0%), within 10 miles by artificial surfaces (0%), and within 50 miles by artificial surfaces (0%).