RIYADH — Over the past four decades, Saudi Arabia has experienced a wide range of weather conditions — from freezing temperatures to scorching heat, as well as periods of intense rainfall and mild spring air.
Based on the National Center for Meteorology (NCM)’s long-term monitoring of May weather patterns from 1985-2025 across the Kingdom, a clearer picture is emerging of what to expect in the month ahead.
According to the NCM’s analysis of May trends, the month records an average temperature of 29.4°C (based on the 1991–2020 baseline) and average rainfall of 8.2 mm. It ranks as the Kingdom’s fifth hottest month and the sixth in terms of rainfall activity.
The NCM’s map showing the spatial distribution of average temperature (°C) across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the month of May for the period (1991–2020).
The NCM has also tracked long-term temperature extremes.
The highest average temperature recorded for May reached 37.88°C in 1999, followed closely by 37.85°C in 2021, 37.70°C in 2012, 37.66°C in 2003, and 37.55°C in 2025. The lowest recorded average temperature for the month was 20.23°C in 1986.
However, the data shows a clear warming trend in the past decade, with consistently higher temperature ranges.
The lowest average temperature recorded during this period was 35.57°C in 2023.
Rainfall patterns have also fluctuated. Over the past decade, the highest May rainfall average was recorded in 2023 at 20.45 mm, while 2022 saw a significantly lower average of just 0.71 mm.
In terms of absolute extremes, the highest temperature ever recorded in May occurred in Makkah at 49.4°C on May 21, 1988, while the lowest was recorded in Rafha at 2.1°C on May 7, 2000.
The NCM’s map showing the spatial distribution of rainfall (mm) across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the month of May for the period (1991–2020).
The highest daily rainfall recorded during May reached 96.1 mm in Bisha on May 1, 2023, while the strongest wind speed was observed in Al-Jouf at 114.8 km/h on May 2, 2021.
Rainfall in May remains relatively limited overall, but certain regions consistently receive higher amounts.
Khamis Mushait records the highest average rainfall at 34.8 mm, followed by Abha at 34.4 mm and Al-Baha at 26.1 mm.
In contrast, the driest locations include Jeddah, Yanbu, and Najran, each receiving less than 1 mm of rainfall on average during the month.
The most intense single rainfall event recorded in May also occurred in Bisha, with 96.1 mm of rain falling on May 1, 2013.
The NCM’s figure showing the different weather extremes across the Kingdom.
The main findings of the National Center for Meteorology’s report include a clear but uneven warming trend, with peak heat levels remaining extremely high and more recent years clustering among the hottest on record. Rainfall patterns, however, show significant variability, with no consistent upward trend and sharp swings between very dry and very wet years.
The data also highlights geography as a defining factor, with the southwestern regions of Asir and Al-Baha experiencing cooler, wetter conditions, while central and western areas remain hotter and the coastal west among the driest.
Source: Saudi Gazette