St Ives weather in May

May in St Ives: cool, a little rain, with muggy air — a great time to visit.

Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis

St Ives🇬🇧 United Kingdom · British Isles · Beach76
  1. 37Jan
  2. 45Feb
  3. 55Mar
  4. 72Apr
  5. 76May
  6. 79Jun
  7. 83Jul
  8. 81Aug
  9. 67Sep
  10. 57Oct
  11. 42Nov
  12. 34Dec

#4 of 12 months in St Ives · #910 of 1413 destinations to visit in May · comfort 76/100 (tier B)

Days
16°C
Nights
10°C
Wet days
8
Sun
11.4 h
Humidity
79%
Daylight
16 h
St Ives, United Kingdom
Photo: Stephan Leuzinger · Pexels

Traveller notes on St Ives in May

St Ives-forum threads on May weather offer the classic English hedge: long days and light evenings give a good chance of great weather, but it's genuinely variable - some Mays deliver beautiful sunny stretches, others bring rain for days on end. What regulars keep repeating is a pattern from recent summers: the best weather has landed early in the season, in May, with July and August sometimes disappointing by comparison. The standing line is simply that you're in England and the weather could do anything at any time, but if good weather is going to show up anywhere, Cornwall's as good a bet as any. The record: 19.5C days feeling like 18C, 13.9C nights, 61mm across 10.6 days, a 16.4C sea still bracing for swimming, 79 percent humidity and wind averaging over 25 km/h.
PorthmeorMayRegular · May · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

Other months in St Ives

Regulars are specific this counts as one of the best months to visit here, warm and still buzzing without the peak-summer crowds, quieter still once children return to school and mid-month onward the preferred window by local consensus. Our row backs that mild, genuinely wet read, 17.6C over 12.5C nights feeling 10C, with a substantial 108.6mm of rain across 14.4 days and a real 28.3 kph wind. Regulars are consistent late September into early October can bring genuinely lovely blue-sky stretches with warm sea temperatures, the town's own two-week September festival adding live music, exhibitions and theatre to the calendar. The sea sits at 16.7C. The record: 8.2 hours of sun, humidity 81 percent and AQI 52.
BestMonthQuieterOnceSchoolStarts · September · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
St Ives-forum threads on April weather call it a genuine toss-up - plenty of days good enough for sitting on the beach or a coastal walk in just a jumper, and just as many where poor weather rolls in and rearranges the day's plans entirely. Posters are consistent that Cornwall runs a few degrees milder than the rest of England, so even a middling April day here tends to feel better than the same forecast further north or east. The standing advice across every thread is the same: pack for anything, layers plus something properly waterproof, and treat any spell of sun as a bonus rather than an expectation. Regulars who've spent many spring breaks in the area say they've rarely lost an entire trip to weather, even in a wetter-than-usual April, since a walk or a museum visit fills the gaps between showers. The record: 12.9C days feeling like 10C, 7.1C nights, 66mm across 11.1 days, a bracing 10.8C sea, 78 percent humidity and wind averaging over 27 km/h.
PorthmeorAprilRegular · April · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
June is the month St Ives regulars recommend for the crowd rather than the warmth: the real crush arrives with the school holidays in late July and August, so early June is not busy at all, though the end of June into early July can surprise you depending on when the holidays fall. The weather they describe as lovely when it behaves and thoroughly British when it does not - our row gives a 17.8C day that feels like 16C, with 10.9 precipitation days. The sea is the honest part: around 14C at the start of June by their reckoning, our row saying 16.5C for the month, and locals wear a summer shortie wetsuit even at the height of summer. The record: 12.2C nights, 67.2mm of rain, 11.5 hours of sun and a 24.9 kph wind.
ShortieEvenInSummer · June · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
July in St Ives splits down the middle of the month. The forum's own phrasing for the first half is busy enough for atmosphere but not so busy you cannot get a table without booking - and then the schools break up in late July and the town fills properly, which is where August starts early. Some regulars call even mid-July horribly busy. Parking is the standing complaint: difficult in early summer, limited out of season too, and the workaround they offer is to leave the car at Hayle and take the train in, about fifteen minutes. The record: 19.5C days that feel like 18C, 13.9C nights, 10.6 precipitation days carrying 60.7mm, 11.3 hours of sun, a 16.4C sea and a 25 kph wind.
ParkAtHayleTakeTheTrain · July · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

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St Ives climate normals — May

Daytime high16°C / 60°F🙂 cool
Nighttime low10°C / 49°F
Feels like (high)13°C / 55°F
Sea temperature13°C / 55°F🥶 cold sea
Rainfall50 mm / 2 in🌦 some rain
Rainy days8 days
Humidity79%💦 very humid
Dew point9°C / 48°F
Sunshine11.4 h/day
Daylight15.5 h
Wind25 km/h / 16 mph
Air quality (US AQI)54🙂 moderate

Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.

Crowds in St Ives in May

How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.

Peak crowdsFood and Drink Festival, Late-May half-term in United Kingdom, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it(estimated)

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Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet

Best months for St Ives's weather

Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).

Fair weatherSt Ives's weather peaks June–August, best around July.

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Best weatherFair weatherToughest weather

What's on in St Ives in May

Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.

  • Festival

    Food and Drink Festival

    15–17 MayFood & drink festivalCrowded

    Three days on the sand at Porthminster in the middle of May, before the school holidays and while the town is still walkable. Source ↗

What's on around the world in May →

Nearby, and something's on

Within 300 km of St Ives — a day trip or a short hop — with something on this month. Never part of the comfort score.

Where is St Ives?

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St Ives in May — FAQ

Is May a good time to visit St Ives?
May in St Ives: cool, a little rain, with muggy air — a great time to visit. It ranks #4 of 12 months for St Ives on SeasonMap's comfort score (76/100).
What is the weather like in St Ives in May?
In May, St Ives averages a daily high of 15.6°C and a low of 9.5°C, with about 50.2 mm of rain over roughly 7.6 rainy days.
What is the air quality in St Ives in May?
St Ives has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 54 in May.

Within 300 km: Bath's The Bath Festival on 16–24 May, and Bournemouth's Beach season around 15 May – 15 Sep.