United States
Charleston in May
🌷 SpringWarm, a little humid and some showers.
🎒 Pack: sunglasses & hat
Why May scores 9.0What goes into the score
How it works- Weather comfort50%8.7
- ✓Warm (28.7°C highs / 18.7°C lows)
- ✓Humid (dew point 17.6°C)
- ✓Mostly dry (~94 mm rain)
- Air quality20%9.5
- ✓Good (within WHO guideline) (PM2.5 ~8 µg/m³)
- Seasonal hazards20%10.0
- ·No notable seasonal hazards
- Safety baseline10%7.5
- ·Increased caution
| May | Mar | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 9.0 Excellent | 9.2 Excellent |
| Season | 🌷 Spring | 🌷 Spring |
| High / low | 29° / 19° | 21° / 10° |
| Rain | 94 mm | 74 mm |
| Humidity | dew pt 18° | dew pt 11° |
| PM2.5 | 8 µg/m³ | 9 µg/m³ |
Typical-month data: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis) 2015–2024 (modelled, not a forecast).
Holidays & crowdsMay 2027
Long weekendThere's at least one long weekend. Domestic travel picks up and popular spots get busier over those days.
- Memorial Day 29–31 May · 3 days off in a row
National holidays only; regional holidays and school breaks aren't included. Source: holidays (open-source public-holiday calendar).
Explore CharlestonEvents, sights, food & souvenirs
Check event dates locallyA historic port city in South Carolina known for antebellum architecture, Lowcountry cooking and a complex history of slavery and the Civil War.
Spoleto Festival USADate variesUsually late May to early June
A major performing arts festival of music, opera, theatre and dance.
Why go: Popular performances sell out ahead.
Where: Venues across the city
Coming up later
Charleston Wine + FoodDate variesUsually early March
A food festival featuring Southern chefs and tastings.
Why go: Events are ticketed.
Where: Venues across the city
Cooper River Bridge RunDate variesUsually late March or early April
A huge 10K race over the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge.
Why go: Traffic disruptions around the route.
Where: Ravenel Bridge to downtown
Historic District and Rainbow Row
Streets of preserved 18th- and 19th-century houses, including a row painted in pastel colours.
The Battery and White Point Garden
A seawall promenade with views of the harbour.
Fort Sumter National Monument
The fort where the first shots of the Civil War were fired, reached by boat.
Charleston City Market
A long market where Gullah artisans weave sweetgrass baskets.
McLeod Plantation Historic Site
A former plantation that focuses on the lives of the enslaved people who lived there.
Waterfront Park
A riverside park known for its pineapple fountain.
Shrimp and grits
Local shrimp over creamy stone-ground grits.
She-crab soup
A rich crab soup finished with crab roe and sherry.
Lowcountry boil
Shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes boiled together.
Hoppin' John
Rice and field peas, traditionally eaten on New Year's Day.
Benne wafers
Thin sesame seed cookies with roots in West African cooking.
Sweetgrass baskets
Coiled baskets made by Gullah artisans, a craft with West African roots.
💡 Charleston City Market and roadside stands
Benne wafers
Tins of sesame cookies.
💡 Food and gift shops
Stone-ground grits
Locally milled grits.
💡 Food shops