Ahhh.. the weather, everyone’s favorite subject. Or so
it would seem based on the number of conversations that revolve
around it. Here in Phuket is no different although many people who only visit occasionally always want to ask the locals if this week’s weather is typical or when is the rain going to stop? How often have you found yourself wondering or asking these questions? So let’s look at the facts behind Phuket’s weather patterns to make sense out of what seems to be random occurrences of bad weather.
The climate is dictated by the monsoon winds. That is the direction of the prevailing winds caused by the difference in the way oceans and land retain heat. During the summer from April to October, the great land mass of Asia is warmer than the ocean. The colder, heavier air over the Indian Ocean pushes into the warm air over the continental land mass. This causes the prevailing winds to come from the southwest over the Indian Ocean, bringing warm moist air and rain to Phuket. As the Asian continent cools from November to April, the ocean becomes warmer than the land. The prevailing wind direction changes to come from the northeast. That is from the great land mass of China bringing cooler, drier air and good weather to Phuket.
Phuket
has a tropical climate, more specifically a tropical
monsoon climate, with a dry season from November to April and a
rain from May to October, with little or no rain between June and
August . Average temperatures are consistent year-round. Average
highs range from 29 °C (84 °F) to 33 °C (91 °F);
average lows range from 23 °C (73 °F) to 26 °C (79 °F).
Notice that the high and low temperature ranges do not vary more
than 4 to 6 degrees annually. Now that is not to say that on
occasion we don’t get a really hot or cool spell, but these are
infrequent and really don’t effect the average ranges.
So
if you visit from a winter climate, that you can expect that you will
feel comfortable to warm, but if you come from a similar or even
hotter climate you might feel cool. And if you visit during summer,
than you can expect to get rained on occasionally to sometimes daily.
Here is a chart illustrating the temperature ranges by month:
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
|
| High °C |
32
|
33
|
33
|
33
|
32
|
31
|
31
|
31
|
31
|
31
|
31
|
31
|
| High °F |
90
|
91
|
91
|
91
|
90
|
88
|
88
|
88
|
88
|
88
|
88
|
88
|
| Low °C |
23
|
24
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
25
|
26
|
26
|
24
|
24
|
24
|
23
|
| Low °F |
73
|
75
|
75
|
77
|
79
|
77
|
79
|
79
|
75
|
75
|
75
|
73
|
For those of you planning on spending some time enjoying the waters around our beautiful island and who isn’t, the average sea temperature range from 28 °C (82 °F) to 30 °C (86 °F). This indicates that whether you are scuba diving, snorkeling or just splashing about in the waves, the water will be comfortable.
Now
lets look at that all important statistic that is on every ones’
mind, rain fall, what is the true data behind the dry season and wet
season, as the following charts clearly show, May through October as
mentioned above are the ‘rainy’ season, with
May, September and October being the monsoon months here is Phuket
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
|
| mm |
42
|
30
|
60
|
157
|
345
|
286
|
284
|
272
|
417
|
351
|
188
|
71
|
| Days |
5
|
3
|
4
|
9
|
18
|
17
|
19
|
17
|
21
|
19
|
14
|
8
|
As
you would expect the humidity ranges and hours of sunshine per day
tend to follow the same schedule as the rain season:
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
|
%
|
58
|
56
|
58
|
65
|
73
|
74
|
75
|
74
|
78
|
76
|
72
|
63
|
Hours
|
8
|
9
|
8
|
9
|
8
|
7
|
8
|
8
|
7
|
7
|
7
|
8
|
One
important warning: during summer winds bring large waves and
dangerous undercurrents to Phuket's western beaches. Red flags are
raised on the beaches to warn of dangerous conditions. Do not swim in
the sea if there are red flags.
For
your planning purposes here is a quick month by month summary of what
to expect from the weather when visiting Phuket:
January
It will be beautiful. Lots of blue sky, very little
rainfall and temperatures are comfortably hot.
February
It will be beautiful. Lots of blue sky and normally no
rain. The temperatures are starting to rise but sill in the
comfortably hot range.
March
It will be beautiful but the temperature starts to get
hotter. There is lots of blue sky and some thunderstorm.
April
Temperatures can reach a high level, so during Thai New
Year (Song Kran) people enjoy two or three days splashing water to
each other. The month starts with plenty of blue sky but usually, at
some point towards the end of this month some rain arrives.
May
The wind will change bringing rain that can be heavy
during second half. This is the second wettest month of the year.
Strong storms are normal and can rain for long periods. On the plus
side, the temperature drops back to levels that are more comfortable.
June
Summer starts with short downpours and strong wind .
There are often several days without rain and there is some blue sky
in the breaks. Temperatures are comfortable with a cooling breeze.
July
The downpours are an inconvenience but not a major
annoyance. Normally Phuket has several days without rain and there is
sky in the breaks. Wind is down and temperatures are comfortable with
a cooling breeze.
August
This is almost a mini high-season month. The school
holidays in Europe mean a lot of people choose this month to visit
and take advantage of the low-season prices. There are also a lot of
Australian visitors this month. The summer continues, downpours are
an inconvenience rather than a major annoyance. There may be several
days without rain and some blue sky in the breaks. Some thunder
storm Temperatures are comfortable with a cooling breeze.
September
This is the wettest month of the year. It will rain
often and sometimes for long periods. There will be very little blue
sky. This is also the coolest month of the year although average high
temperatures are still close to 30 degrees centigrade.
October
Phuket start looking forward for the winter monsoon that
will bring dry air. This is the third wettest month of the year. It
will rain often. There will be little blue sky.
November
This is the official start of the high season. At some
point in this month the rains should stop. There will still be
showers and the occasional heavy downpour but the main rains have
finished. The sky will be a mixture of cloud and blue. Temperatures
start to pick up towards the comfortably hot high season level. The
Sea on west coast flatten down as the monsoon changed
December
The high season and the crowds are well and truly here.
There will be an occasional shower and perhaps even a few heavy
downpours but generally, it is dry. The sky is mostly blue but there
is still plenty of passing white cloud. The temperatures are now
reaching the thirties.
What
conclusions can we draw from all this data, the weather patterns for
Phuket are fairly constant and can for the most part be counted on
when planning your vacation here. Looking back at data gathered over
a 20 to 50 year average confirms this phenomenon of consistency in
our weather patterns with today’s data above.
Climate
data for Phuket (1961–1990)
|
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Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Average
high °C (°F)
|
31.8
(89.2) |
32.9
(91.2) |
33.5
(92.3) |
33.4
(92.1) |
32.0
(89.6) |
31.6
(88.9) |
31.2
(88.2) |
31.2
(88.2) |
30.7
(87.3) |
30.9
(87.6) |
31.0
(87.8) |
31.2
(88.2) |
31.8
(89.2) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Daily
mean °C (°F)
|
27.9
(82.2) |
28.7
(83.7) |
29.3
(84.7) |
29.5
(85.1) |
28.4
(83.1) |
28.3
(82.9) |
27.8
(82.0) |
27.9
(82.2) |
27.3
(81.1) |
27.4
(81.3) |
27.5
(81.5) |
27.6
(81.7) |
28.1
(82.6) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Average
low °C (°F)
|
23.3
(73.9) |
23.7
(74.7) |
24.3
(75.7) |
24.8
(76.6) |
24.5
(76.1) |
24.5
(76.1) |
24.2
(75.6) |
24.4
(75.9) |
23.9
(75.0) |
23.8
(74.8) |
23.8
(74.8) |
23.7
(74.7) |
24.1
(75.4) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Precipitation
mm (inches)
|
29.8
(1.173) |
20.9
(0.823) |
49.1
(1.933) |
121.9
(4.799) |
319.4
(12.575) |
268.9
(10.587) |
290.5
(11.437) |
272.6
(10.732) |
399.0
(15.709) |
309.6
(12.189) |
175.7
(6.917) |
59.4
(2.339) |
2,316.8
(91.213) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Avg.
rainy days
|
4
|
3
|
5
|
11
|
21
|
19
|
19
|
19
|
23
|
22
|
16
|
8
|
170
|
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Source
#1: Thai Meteorological Department
|
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Having
stated that the weather patterns in Phuket are predictable don’t
forget that nature does what she prefers and so sometime can see
heavy rain during the winter and dry air and blue sky in summer
months. Still a lot to do and places to enjoy, the real difference
between the two season are the waves, big and dangerous during summer
(May to October), the best time to enjoy nearby islands such as
Racha Yai and Phi Phi Island where can enjoy the beautiful Andaman Sea on
their east costs . During winter (November to April) wind an be
strong in the morning from east however the west Coast beaches of
Phuket are at their best.
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