Cairns is a truly tropical climate. Rather than having a distinct four seasons there are really only two - the wet and the dry. The wet season runs from about November to May and the dry season from June to October. The chart below shows why these seasons are named as they are. Whatever the time of the year it is difficult to say that it gets cold in Cairns however in June and July you can often here locals complaining about the cold snap as it gets down to 10 degrees Celsius (about 66 Fahrenheit) overnight.

In the wet season the rain can be impressive. When it falls it comes in a heavy downpour that would normally flood a town for weeks. In Cairns it all drains away in a few hours and it is back to business as usual. In the wet season tropical cyclones can influence the weather. These are the same as hurricanes in the Northern hemisphere. Whilst they can be quite destructive cities like Cairns are built to withstand the strong winds.

For most of the year the climate in Cairns is simply perfect. Blue skies, warm but not to hot and gentle breezes to help make the palm trees sway.

		J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Max temp. °C		31	31	30	29	28	26	26	27	28	29	31	31
Min temp. °C		24	24	23	22	20	18	17	18	19	21	22	23
Rainfall (mm)		413	435	442	191	94	49	28	27	36	38	90	175
Rainy Days		18	19	20	17	14	10	9	8	8	8	10	13