May is the time when spring hands over the baton to summer, and the weather during this period is characterized by instability. Cold air masses periodically return, and meteorologists call this phenomenon return frosts. Moreover, in May such cold snaps can be quite noticeable.
Folk signs have long associated frosts with the blooming of apricot and bird cherry, so May cold is a common occurrence, albeit varying in intensity. This year, waves of cold have been hitting Ukraine especially often, and another drop in temperature is expected before the end of the month, so it's too early to put away warm clothes.
The upcoming weekend will bring contrasting weather to the country: rain is expected in the west with daytime temperatures around +15°C, while the east and south will be mostly clear and warm — up to +29°C.
In the western regions on Friday, May 14, thermometers will show +18…+19°C, with possible heavy thunderstorms in places. On Saturday and Sunday, the western region will be the coolest: intense precipitation and thunderstorms are forecast. According to Sinoptik.ua, on the morning of May 15-16, about +14°C is expected, in the afternoon the air will warm up to +20°C, the sky will be mostly cloudy with rare clearings. The rains that begin on the weekend will spread to the entire region next week. Wind gusts during thunderstorms can reach 7 m/s.
In the Carpathian highlands from May 15 to 17, it will be cooler: daytime +13…+14°C, nighttime +3…+7°C, precipitation is expected.
In the central regions on May 14, the temperature will be +22…+23°C, and in the Vinnytsia region — about +16°C. Brief local precipitation is possible. On the weekend, the center of the country will be in comfortable conditions: in Cherkasy, Kropyvnytskyi, and Poltava, from +18°C to +24°C is expected, humidity will be 55–70%, wind — up to 5 m/s. Light rain is possible only in Vinnytsia. And on Monday, May 17, the temperature will drop by a few degrees, and rains with thunderstorms will pass.
The east of the country from May 14 to 17 will be the hottest: in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, the air will warm up to +29°C, in the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions — up to +26°C. On Friday, light rains will pass in places in the Kharkiv region. The weekend will be dry, and from Monday, May 17, rains with thunderstorms will begin in the Kharkiv region, and on Tuesday they will reach the Donetsk region.
The south of Ukraine on May 14 will be without precipitation: in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, +18…+19°C is expected, in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions — +22…+25°C. On the weekend, the minimum daytime temperature in the Odesa region will be +19…+21°C, and the maximum in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions — +24…+27°C. At the beginning of the week, warmth up to +26°C will remain only in the Zaporizhzhia region. On the weekend, heavy rains with thunderstorms will pass in places.
In the northern regions on May 14, the temperature is expected to be within +18…+23°C, with variable cloudiness and occasional rain. On Saturday, precipitation is forecast everywhere except the Zhytomyr region. On Sunday, May 16, it will be dry and cloudy with clearings. During the daytime on the weekend, the air will warm up to +21…+23°C, in Sumy — up to +25°C. The work week will begin with rains and mostly overcast skies.
In Kyiv on Friday night it will be up to +12°C, during the day — +17…+18°C, atmospheric pressure will be 741 mm Hg. Rain is expected, wind southeast, up to 4 m/s. On the weekend, the daytime temperature will rise to +19…+23°C: on Saturday, May 15, brief light rains will pass, and on Sunday, May 16, there will be no precipitation and the air will warm up to +23°C.
From Monday it will become cooler — up to +17°C, heavy rains are expected, possibly with thunderstorms. For the entire next week, it's worth keeping an umbrella at hand, as precipitation will periodically recur.
