May 2026 Review

A late frost, a later heatwave, and an even later start to our monsoon season!

All that and more, as we take our big look back at Edmonton weather for May 2026.

May 2026's average High of 20.1°C was the 16th warmest on record. The average Low of 6.8°C was 18th.

Compared to recent years that's close to 2025, 2024 was pretty cool, and 2023 was our warmest May on record by far.



High Temperatures

May's Highs ranged from 9.9°C on the 15th to 30.5°C on the 29th.

Overall 23 Highs were above average. 8 were below average, at the start, middle, and end of the month.

May averages 2 Highs below 10°C, and 2026 only had 1 with 9.9°C on the 15th. 

On average 10 Highs get to 20°C, and we got 15.

3 of those get to 25°C, and we got 6. 

And we had 2 Highs get to 30°C. Recently 2025 had 3, 2022 also had 2, and 2016-2019 all got to 30°C.

Our hottest day of the year usually happens in July or August. But since 1880 there have been 18 years where the hottest day occurred in May. Recently that included 2019 (30.6°C), 2016 (30°C) & 2010 (30.3°C).



Low Temperatures

For Low temperatures May 2026 had 19 above average and 12 below.

That ranged from 14.6°C at the end of the month, to some frosty -2.3°C and -2.7°C nights earlier.

May averages 2 below-freezing Lows. And we got 2, on the 5th and then pretty late on the 17th.

About a quarter of the time May is frost-free, and recently that happened in 2024, 2023, 2020, 2018, 2017...



Final Frost

The average date of Blatchford's final frost is May 5th. 

2026 was a little late, dragging it out to the Victoria Day Long weekend on May 17th. That was one day later than 2025's May 16st. 

But 2024, 2023 & 2020 were all done around April 20th.

Around the neighbourhood Stony Plain's final frost was also May 17th, when their average is May 10th. The airport and Campsie were May 21st, although both of those stations could still see frost in June.



Warm & Cold Months

After a meh March and a cool April, May 2026 gets a medium orange/warm bubble.

The average High of 20.1°C was 2.6°C warmer than the 20th century average. The average Low of 6.8°C was 2.1°C warmer.

Back in 2014 we were below average from February through June.



Across Canada

Across the country May was mostly above average, except in Ontario & Quebec. 

That ranged from Kelowna's Highs 3.8°C above their 20th century average, to Quebec City at -0.8°C below theirs.

For final frost across the prairies, Edmonton's average is a week or two earlier than the other cities.

But in 2026 everyone was done within a few days of the May long weekend, unless another late frost sneaks in.



Snow

In May we average around 5cm of snow, but 2026 was snowfree.

May is snowfree around half of the time.

We average around 120cm of snow in a winter. This winter the airport was a little high with 133.5cm. But 60cm of that was all in December. 

Uncas near Sherwood Park is the only other local station which records snow. It got to 186cm after it has a very snowy April.



Snow Across Canada

Of the cities with snow measurements, the only ones to record snow in May were Calgary, Halifax and Moncton.

St. John's finishes the winter at the top with 522cm, followed by Charlottetown with 305cm. Then a bunch of cities are grouped around 200-250cm.



Precipitation

In May we average around 50mm of precipitation.

Our summer monsoon season usually gets started around mid-month, but this year it waited until the very end.

Blatchford ends up with 33mm, the airport with 26mm, and Stony Plain with 27mm.

In terms of storms it was a very quiet month...right up until the 31st dropped 22mm onto Blatchford, the airport, and Stony Plain. (Campsie 100km NW only got 12mm.

By the end of May we average around 125mm of precipitation for the year. After a low May, but an above average March & April the local stations range from 92mm at the airport to 122mm at Blatchford.

For total precipitation for the year so far St. John's, Halifax & Charlottetown are all way out around 600mm. For Charlottetown that's pretty high, but for the others it's normal.

Nothing is particularly exciting, but the prairie cities are mostly a little below average.

For big storms Toronto got 43mm on the 23rd, and Moncton got 34mm on the 3rd.

Halifax, Charlottetown, Quebec City, Montréal and Edmonton all got 20cm+ days.



June

In June usually about half of the Highs are above 20°C, with maybe a week above 25°C.

The last time that Blatchford had a June frost was 1942.

But we've had snow in June in 2011, 1967, 1922 and 1888.