May Weather in Iqaluit Nunavut, CanadaDaily high temperatures increase by 13°F, from 23°F to 37°F, rarely falling below 12°F or exceeding 44°F. Daily low temperatures increase by 17°F, from 12°F to 29°F, rarely falling below -2°F or exceeding 35°F. For reference, on July 27, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Iqaluit typically range from 42°F to 54°F, while on February 7, the coldest day of the year, they range from -22°F to -10°F. Average High and Low Temperature in May in Iqaluit
The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.
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. Average Hourly Temperature in May in Iqaluit
frigid
15°F
freezing
32°F
very cold
45°F
cold
55°F
cool
65°F
comfortable
75°F
warm
85°F
hot
95°F
sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.
Kharp, Russia (3,138 miles away) and Kayyerkan, Russia (3,170 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Iqaluit (view comparison). CloudsThe month of May in Iqaluit experiences gradually decreasing cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy decreasing from 59% to 54%. The lowest chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 53% on May 25. The clearest day of the month is May 25, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 47% of the time. For reference, on December 24, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 76%, while on May 25, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 47%. Cloud Cover Categories in May in Iqaluit
0%
clear
20%
mostly clear
40%
partly cloudy
60%
mostly cloudy
80%
overcast
100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.
Compare Iqaluit to:PrecipitationA wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Iqaluit, the chance of a wet day over the course of May is essentially constant, remaining around 17% throughout. For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 30% on August 14, and its lowest chance is 5% on January 2. Over the course of May in Iqaluit, the chance of a day with only rain increases from 1% to 10%, the chance of a day with mixed snow and rain remains an essentially constant 3% throughout, and the chance of a day with only snow decreases from 13% to 4%. RainfallTo show variation within the month and not just the monthly total, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day. The average sliding 31-day rainfall during May in Iqaluit is increasing, starting the month at 0.2 inches, when it rarely exceeds 0.4 inches, and ending the month at 0.8 inches, when it rarely exceeds 1.6 inches or falls below 0.2 inches. Average Monthly Rainfall in May in Iqaluit
The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average snowfall.
SnowfallAs with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day. The average sliding 31-day snowfall during May in Iqaluit is rapidly decreasing, starting the month at 7.4 inches, when it rarely exceeds 16.0 inches or falls below 1.3 inches, and ending the month at 3.6 inches, when it rarely exceeds 8.9 inches or falls below 0.4 inches. The highest average 31-day accumulation is 7.4 inches on May 3. Average Monthly Snowfall in May in Iqaluit
The average snowfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average rainfall.
SunOver the course of May in Iqaluit, the length of the day is very rapidly increasing. From the start to the end of the month, the length of the day increases by 3 hours, 2 minutes, implying an average daily increase of 6 minutes, 5 seconds, and weekly increase of 42 minutes, 34 seconds. The shortest day of the month is May 1, with 16 hours, 47 minutes of daylight and the longest day is May 31, with 19 hours, 49 minutes of daylight. Hours of Daylight and Twilight in May in Iqaluit
The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.
The latest sunrise of the month in Iqaluit is 4:08 AM on May 1 and the earliest sunrise is 1 hour, 31 minutes earlier at 2:38 AM on May 31. The earliest sunset is 8:55 PM on May 1 and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 32 minutes later at 10:27 PM on May 31. Daylight saving time is observed in Iqaluit during 2026, but it neither starts nor ends during May, so the entire month is in daylight saving time. For reference, on June 21, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 2:11 AM and sets 20 hours, 50 minutes later, at 11:00 PM, while on December 21, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 9:22 AM and sets 4 hours, 20 minutes later, at 1:42 PM. Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in May in Iqaluit
The solar day over the course of May. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray.
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. Solar Elevation and Azimuth in May in Iqaluit
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of May 2026. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).
MoonThe figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for May 2026. 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. Moon Rise, Set & Phases in May in Iqaluit
The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.
HumidityWe 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 Iqaluit is essentially constant during May, remaining around 0% throughout. WindThis 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 Iqaluit is gradually decreasing during May, decreasing from 11.5 miles per hour to 10.6 miles per hour over the course of the month. For reference, on April 30, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 11.6 miles per hour, while on July 13, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 9.4 miles per hour. The wind direction in Iqaluit during May is predominantly out of the west from May 1 to May 2, the east from May 2 to May 6 and from May 16 to May 31, and the north from May 6 to May 16. Wind Direction in May in Iqaluit
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).
Water TemperatureIqaluit 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 Iqaluit is essentially constant during May, remaining around 30°F throughout. Growing SeasonDefinitions 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). The growing season in Iqaluit typically lasts for 2.9 months (88 days), from around June 13 to around September 9, rarely starting before May 27 or after July 4, and rarely ending before August 23 or after September 27. The month of May in Iqaluit is more likely than not fully outside of the growing season, with the chance that a given day is in the growing season increasing from 0% to 17% over the course of the month. Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in May in Iqaluit
frigid
15°F
freezing
32°F
very cold
45°F
cold
55°F
cool
65°F
comfortable
75°F
warm
85°F
hot
95°F
sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.
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 Iqaluit are essentially constant during May, remaining around 0°F throughout. Solar EnergyThis 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 Iqaluit is gradually increasing during May, rising by 1.0 kWh, from 4.8 kWh to 5.8 kWh, over the course of the month. TopographyFor the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Iqaluit are 63.747 deg latitude, -68.517 deg longitude, and 30 ft elevation. The topography within 2 miles of Iqaluit contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 525 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 160 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,247 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (2,625 feet). The area within 2 miles of Iqaluit is covered by sparse vegetation (42%), bare soil (34%), and grassland (14%), within 10 miles by water (32%) and sparse vegetation (29%), and within 50 miles by bare soil (41%) and sparse vegetation (41%). Data SourcesThis report illustrates the typical weather in Iqaluit, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016. Temperature and Dew PointThere is only a single weather station, Iqaluit Climate, in our network suitable to be used as a proxy for the historical temperature and dew point records of Iqaluit. At a distance of 2 kilometer from Iqaluit, closer than our threshold of 150 kilometers, this station is deemed sufficiently nearby to be relied upon as our primary source for temperature and dew point records. The station records are corrected for the elevation difference between the station and Iqaluit according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations. Please note that the station records themselves may additionally have been back-filled using other nearby stations or the MERRA-2 reanalysis. Other DataAll data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus. All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid. Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database . Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com . Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors. DisclaimerThe information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site. We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands. We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader. Please review our full terms contained on our Terms of Service page. |
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