This report describes the typical weather at the North Las Vegas Airport (Las Vegas, Nevada, United States) weather station over the course of an average May. It is based on the historical records from 1999 to 2012. Earlier records are either unavailable or unreliable.
Las Vegas, Nevada has a hot desert climate. The area within 25 mi of this station is covered by shrublands (94%) and built-up areas (4%).
The month of May is characterized by rapidly rising daily high temperatures, with daily highs ranging from 82°F to 93°F over the course of the month, exceeding 103°F or dropping below 72°F only one day in ten.
Over the course of May, the length of the day is gradually increasing. From the start to the end of the month, the length of the day increases by 45 minutes, implying an average day-over-day increase of 1.5 minutes.
The shortest day of the month is May 1 with 13:42 hours of daylight; the longest day is May 31 with 14:27 hours of daylight.
The earliest sunrise is at 5:25am on May 30; the latest sunset is at 7:52pm on May 31; the latest sunrise is at 5:47am on May 1; the earliest sunset is at 7:29pm on May 1.
Daylight savings time is observed in 2012 but it neither starts nor ends in May, so the entire month is in daylight time.
The median cloud cover is 0% (clear) and does not vary substantially over the course of the month.
On May 16, a representative day, the sky is clear or mostly clear 89% of the time, partly cloudy 2% of the time, and mostly cloudy or overcast 5% of the time.
The average probability that some form of precipitation will be observed in a given day is 5%, with little variation over the course of the month.
Throughout May, the most common forms of precipitation are light rain and thunderstorms.
Light rain is the most severe precipitation observed during 74% of those days with precipitation. It is most likely around May 1, when it is observed during 5% of all days.
Thunderstorms are the most severe precipitation observed during 14% of those days with precipitation. They are most likely around May 23, when it is observed during 1% of all days.
Either snow is exceptionally unlikely to fall at this location in May or this station does not reliably report precipitation types.
The relative humidity typically ranges from 11% (very dry) to 34% (comfortable) over the course of a typical May, dropping as low as 5% (very dry) and rarely exceeding 50% (comfortable).
The air is driest around May 12, at which time the relative humidity drops below 15% (very dry) three days out of four; it is most humid around May 1, rising above 24% (dry) three days out of four.
Dew point is often a better measure of how comfortable a person will find the weather than relative humidity because it more directly relates to whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid.
Over the course of a typical May, the dew point typically varies from 18°F (dry) to 39°F (dry) and is rarely below 5°F (dry) or above 53°F (very comfortable).
Over the course of May typical wind speeds vary from 0 mph to 18 mph (calm to fresh breeze), rarely exceeding 27 mph (strong breeze).
The highest average wind speed of 10 mph (gentle breeze) occurs around May 2, at which time the average daily maximum wind speed is 18 mph (fresh breeze).
The lowest average wind speed of 9 mph (gentle breeze) occurs around May 22, at which time the average daily maximum wind speed is 17 mph (moderate breeze).