ERA5 almanac comparison — 8 years of real data
Houston vs New York City: weather in May
Essentially a tie in May: Houston is 23% clear historically, New York City is 24% clear (8-year ERA5 average) — within the noise. Avg high 85°F vs 71°F. Pick based on flight time or price, not weather — the weather won't decide this one for you.
What you are reading: 8-year historical averages, not a forecast.
Either destination can still surprise you this specific May. For this
week’s actual forecast, each destination links to its live page below.
Houston
TX
- Clear days, May
- 23%
- Sample size
- n=248 days
- Avg high
- 85°F
- Early May (1st–15th)
- 29%
- Late May (16th–end)
- 17%
- Rain frequency
- 56% of days
New York City
NY
- Clear days, May
- 24%
- Sample size
- n=248 days
- Avg high
- 71°F
- Early May (1st–15th)
- 18%
- Late May (16th–end)
- 30%
Compare Houston vs New York City in another month
All percentages are historical averages from the ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 8 full years (2018–2025). “Clear” means avg high ≥ 72 °F, precipitation < 1 mm, and a non-precipitation weather code. This is history, not a forecast. The live 7-day outlook for any destination is on its own page and may differ from the long-run average. Data from Open-Meteo.