Weather in Madeira in May
Averages, what the month actually feels like, and what is on while you are here.
May averages
| Measurement | Funchal, south coast | Santana, north coast | Pico do ArieiroModel grid cell at 1,758 m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 22 °C | 18 °C | 11 °C |
| Average low | 16 °C | 13 °C | 4 °C |
| Daylight | 13.8 h | 13.9 h | 13.8 h |
| Sea temperature | 21 °C | – | – |
Temperature and daylight, averaged over the ten years from 2016 to 2025 and recomputed from the Open-Meteo archive rather than typed in by hand. The model works in cells roughly ten kilometres across, so each column describes an area rather than one thermometer. Checked against IPMA's Funchal normal, the temperatures land within about a degree and a half. Sea temperature averages the years 2022 to 2025. The marine record is shorter than the air record, so it rests on fewer years.
Rain in May
Funchal averages 29 mm of rain in May, on 4 days with a millimetre or more.
The north coast around Santana and the mountains above a thousand metres are wetter than the seafront in every month of the year, often several times over. IPMA publishes no station normal for Santana or Pico do Arieiro, so this page puts no millimetre figure on them rather than one it cannot check.
Rainfall: the IPMA climate normal for the Funchal observatory (station 522, 58 m), averaged over the 30 years from 1981 to 2010. The ten-year reanalysis behind the table above is not used for rain. Its grid cell is about ten kilometres across, so it averages the Funchal seafront with the slopes that climb steeply behind the city, where most of the island's summer rain falls. Measured against this normal it runs roughly ten times high in June, July and August.
What May feels like
May is the driest of the spring months and reliably pleasant. Mornings on the south coast can start under a low sheet of cloud that burns off around lunchtime.
What to pack
Summer clothes, a light jacket for the evening, and proper shoes if the mountains are on the list.
What to do in May
Everything is open and nothing is full. Levadas, the coastal paths and the summit ridge are all in good condition, and the sea is warm enough for a first swim.
Worth knowing before you book
The morning cloud sheet, which locals call the capacete, can sit over Funchal for hours. Drive fifteen minutes east or west and it is often gone.
Cruise ships in May
18 ship calls at Funchal in May, which is what fills the old town and the cable car on a weekday morning.
Busiest days: Sunday, May 2, Monday, May 24, Sunday, May 23
What is on in May
- Allegoric Parade in FunchalFunchal
Quick answers
- How warm is Madeira in May?
- In Funchal an average May day reaches 22 °C and falls to 16 °C overnight. Pico do Arieiro averages 11 °C in the same month, so the mountains need their own layer.
- Does it rain in Madeira in May?
- Funchal records about 29 mm across May, on 4 days with a millimetre or more of rain. The north coast and the mountains take several times as much in the same weeks, which is why the two halves of the island can look like different holidays.
- Can you swim in the sea in May?
- The sea off Funchal averages 21 °C in May. Madeira has no shallow shelf to warm it, so the water stays close to that figure all month.
- How long are the days in May?
- About 13.8 hours between sunrise and sunset, which sets how much of a long levada walk you can fit in before dark.