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What is the weather like in Sweden in May?

SMHI normals for May, when Sweden gets about as much sun as in midsummer.

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Short answer

In May the normal mean temperature is about 11 °C in Stockholm, 12 °C in Lund and 4 °C in Kiruna, according to SMHI. Precipitation totals 34 mm in Stockholm, 43 mm in Lund and 44 mm in Kiruna. Sunshine is already at midsummer levels in Stockholm, with a normal of 277 hours, and reaches 238 hours in Kiruna.

When to travel to Sweden: a month-by-month guide Illustration of a season wheel with snow, a birch leaf, sun and rain around a red Swedish cottage

Why

  1. SMHI's 1991–2020 normal mean temperature for May is 11.4 °C in Stockholm, 12.4 °C in Lund and 4.2 °C at Kiruna airport.
  2. According to SMHI, the May precipitation normal is 34 mm in Stockholm, 43 mm in Lund, 44 mm in Kiruna and 41 mm at Luleå airport.
  3. SMHI's May sunshine normal is 277 hours in Stockholm, the same as its June normal, and 253 in Lund, 238 in Kiruna and 317 in Visby.

Details

Luleå averages 7.2 °C in May, between Stockholm and Kiruna. Kiruna's normal is still only 4.2 °C, although it is above freezing for the first time in the year. Visby on Gotland has the highest sunshine normal of the places compared here, 317 hours.

Tip

Plan hikes in the north with spring in mind: with a normal of 4.2 °C in Kiruna, warm layers are still needed even though the sun shines for about 238 hours in the month.

What may differ

May 2025 was cooler than the normal in parts of the country: SMHI's table shows Stockholm at 10.5 °C (normal 11.4) and Visby at 8.9 °C (normal 10.2).

People also ask

  • What is the temperature in Sweden in May?
  • How warm is it in Sweden in May?

Sources

Information checked on 27 October 2026.

When to travel to Sweden: a month-by-month guide

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