Cairns Weather

Winter: the best time to visit Tropical North Queensland is in the months May through to November. This is the dry season and humidity is less than in the summer months. Temperatures range from 12 – 19.C at night and 20 – 26.C during the day. The coolest months are July and August which are also the peak tourist season.

Summer: temperatures range from about 22 – 28.C at night and 28 to 34.C during the day. Summer is also the wet season with monsoonal influence and high humidity.

Tropical cyclones can occur during this summer period though they are infrequent. And in fact last year we had a monster called "Yasi" which destroyed two island resorts and a couple of really up-market mainland resorts as well as a number of private residences in the area south of Innisfail. Cairns City itself seems to be in some sort of ‘cyclone shadow’ having had only one direct in hit in the past 80 years. Some say this may be due to the Mountains at the back of the city 'bouncing' the low pressure system North or South. Depending on the amount of rain and wind the main disturbance is through flooding. All tourist operators have plans in place for the safety of visitors and everyone is kept well informed by radio and TV coverage should a cyclone occur in the area.

Information on current cyclonic events can be found at http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/cyclone/