Today's weather for Cairns, Australia21st Nov 2009 01:00

back to top

Weather Overview for Cairns

The town of Cairns has a warm tropical climate all year round. For most of the year the weather in Cairns in purely wonderful; calm breezes, blue skies and generally just striking warm temperatures. Although given the towns location at the peak of Australia; rather than having four unique seasons there are really only two - the wet and the dry. This truly tropical climate assures tourists and residents a great opportunity for relaxation and outdoor activities - a perfect holiday destination during the town's dry season. In actual fact, numerous visitors and tourists to Cairns believe the town's climate to be very similar to the Hawaiian Islands.

Winter

During the winter (the dry season) Cairns is pleasant and the town experiences little rainfall. Temperatures average from 18°C to 26°C and will generally be days filled of dry sunlight and hesitant winds. Whatever the time of the year, it is difficult to say that it actually gets cold in Cairns. Nevertheless in July and August residents and locals of the town are known to complain about the crack in the warm weather as it can get down to 10°C overnight. Each year the dry season will commence approximately at the end of May and carry out until October. Rainfall during this time will average at approximately 35mm per month.

Summer 

Otherwise known as the rainy season; summertime in Cairns will last a lot longer than winter. Extending from mid October right through until May, some instances even June. Although this is the regions warmest period it’s almost certainly not the best time to vacation. The regions favourable beaches throughout this period are left untouched because of very dangerous box jellyfish. Temperatures over this point in time have been known to climb to 41°C but will generally average out between 28°C and 34°C. Some months over the summer will average in over 400 mm of rainfall; this is extremely severe comparing it to the dry season. Throughout the rainy season it is common for tropical cyclones to dictate the typical weather, Cairns however, was constructed to endure through these storms and the town has survived many in the past. Babinda; a small town situated 10 minutes to Cairns south, was violently hit by Cyclone Larry in March 2006. The cyclone was rated as category five on the Australian scale and the storm damaged 80 percent of the town's structure, including the village’s historic movie theatre and mostly all tourist attractions. On the other and more positive hand, the wet season around this region can also be somewhat amazing as this is the time the rivers, creeks and waterfalls are in their prime and the rainforest comes alive.

Autumn and Spring

This township shows to experience very little climate change during the months of autumn and spring. During April and May, whilst autumn would usually be well underway the surroundings of the district are usually still recovering from the wet season. Yet in September and October, known as Australia’s best time of travel, Cairns is again preparing for monsoons and mass downfalls of rain. Cairns has a typical annual maximum temperature of 29°C and 62 percent precipitation, it's known as one of the most temperamental but most eye-catching towns in Australia. 

back to top