Australia - weather in May

May is the last autumn month in Australia, and is a warm month in the far north, and progressively cooler as you go south.

In the tropical north, May is a hot and dry month in the Top End of the Northern Territory (see Darwin), hot and quite rainy on the north-east facing coast of northern Queensland (see Cairns).
On the east coast (see Brisbane, Sydney), it is a pleasantly warm month, with quite frequent and locally abundant rainfall, and gradually cooler as you proceed south.
In the Outback, the vast arid or desert inland area (see Alice Springs, Oodnadatta), during the day it is quite warm and the sun shines, while nights are very cool.
In the south, in the areas where the climate is Mediterranean (see Perth, Adelaide), it is a very mild month, with quite frequent rainfall.
In the south-east, in the areas where the climate is oceanic (see Melbourne, Tasmania), the temperature is cool and the weather is variable, sometimes cold and windy, with quite frequent rain.

As for the temperatures, the daily average is still 27 °C (81 °F) in the Top End of the Northern Territory (see Darwin) and 24 °C (75 °F) in northern Queensland (see Cairns), while it drops to 18 °C (64.5 °F) in Brisbane, on the east coast, and to 17/18 °C (63/64 °F) in the desert areas south of the tropic (see Oodnadatta, Meekatharra), it is 16.5 °C (61.5 °F) in Perth and Sydney, while it drops to 12.5 °C (54.5 °F) in Melbourne, in the south-east, and to 11.5 °C (52.5 °F) in Hobart, Tasmania.
In the desert it can still get very hot in fact the temperature can still exceed 35 °C (95 °F), while on the central-southern coasts it can occasionally reach 30 °C (86 °F).
Instead, in the south and in the central-southern inland areas, air masses of Antarctic origin can bring cold at night, especially at the end of the month, with lows close to 0 °C (32 °F), and below freezing in the capital, Canberra.

As for the rain, it is very rare in the Top End of the Northern Territory (see Darwin) and in the inland arid and desert areas (see Alice Springs, Oodnadatta).
Instead, on the east coast (see Brisbane, Sydney) the rains are quite frequent, and in some places they are even abundant.
In the vast arid areas of the Outback, the rains are very rare.
In the south, in the areas where the climate is Mediterranean (see Perth, Adelaide), and in the south-east, with an oceanic climate (see Melbourne, Tasmania), the rains are quite frequent, and in the western part of Tasmania they are also abundant.

In the warm season, central-northern Australia, especially the coasts, can be affected by tropical cyclones. However, in May cyclones are rare, in fact, the cyclone season in this area ends on May 15th.

In May, the sea in Australia is warm enough for swimming in the center-north. In the tropical north it is very warm, on the east coast it is quite warm approximately up to Coffs Harbor (south of Brisbane), on the west coast it is a little cool in Perth, while in the south (see Melbourne, Adelaide, Tasmania) it is definitely cold.




See also: Australia, the weather in April - June
The climate of Australia