Good news: In Holland, May often is the sunniest month of the year, with on average up to 15 hours of sunshine a day.
[caption id="attachment_4089" align="alignleft" width="606"]
Oudeschans canal with the Montelbaanstoren[/caption]
However, May also tends to have as many cold days as it has warm days.
At night there can even be some frost, particularly in the first half of the month -- though if and when that happens it is usually in the countryside far east of Amsterdam.
That said, the feast days of the so-called Ice Saints -- May 11 through May 13 -- are notorious for it.
Mind you, as so often is the case, the weather forecast for the rest of the country may call for sun, while much of the West (Amsterdam included) can be covered with clouds drifting in from the Northsea.
Greetings! As soon as the months of May starts, we update this page very frequently.
Right now you should know that the weather in the last of April is not all that good. We're having lots of scattered rain showers.
What's worse is that it has been quite cold -- with temperatures well below the long-term averages. Unfortunately, it looks like that will continue for a while:
Long term forecast, Sunday May 1 through Sunday May 8: The changeable weather pattern persists, with maximum temperatures well below what is normal for this time of the year.
Normal lows and highs in May:
1-10: 7.3-15.9° Celsius (45.14-60.6° Fahrenheit)
11-20: 8.4-17.4° Celsius (47.1-63.3° Fahrenheit)
21-31: 9.2-18° Celsius (48.6-64.4° Fahrenheit)
The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI)[ref]Dutch: Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut[/ref] notes that in recent years the months of April and May have been rather mild, sunny and dry.
But May, 2013 was quite cold, somber and wet. Even the sunny days were cold.
May, 2014 was a dream -- beautiful spring weather.
Amsterdam Weather Facts: May
Temperatures
• Average lows: 7.2° C (45° F)
• Average highs: 18° C (64.4° F)
Sunrise & Sunset
• May 1 - 6:11 a.m. / 9:06 p.m
• May 31 - 5:26 a.m. / 9:51 p.m.
Rainfall
• Average: 52 mm (2.4 inches) in 44 hours
What to wear in Amsterdam in May
You'll need to take into account the updated weather situation as described above, but normally this is what you'd bring:
Bring short-sleeved T-shirts or tops, and summer-type skirts and dresses -- but also something slightly warmer for chilly evenings and sunny but chilly days. Jeans, light-weight slacks, or shorts for guys.
Early mornings may look sunny but can still be cold enough to warrant sweats or a light jacket -- especially when it's windy.
After sundown temperatures cool off rapidly.
You probably won't need an umbrella. If you do want to carry one, a small fold-up model will suffice. But showers usually are brief enough to wait them out over something to eat of drink at a brown café, a coffeehouse/coffeeshop. or a deli.
Tips
- Sunny days are perfect for postcard-quality photos -- especially now that everything is green. You can take beautiful pictures along the canals (particularly from bridges).
- Grey and rainy days make for great dramatic pictures, particularly if you shoot in black & white (or later convert your color photos to B&W).
- When the weather is good, do like the Amsterdammers do, and relax at an outdoor café. It's perfect for people-watching.
- If it's rainy, plan on visiting some of Amsterdam's 50+ museums
- A bad weather day is also perfect for a visit to the cinema[ref]In the Netherlands, most movies on TV and in the cinema are shown in the original language, with Dutch subtitles.[/ref]. We can recommend a visit to the unique EYE Film Institute.
Amsterdam Climate
General information about the weather in Amsterdam
Local weather in other months