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) |
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) |
| 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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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.
Two more happy customers, who enjoyed a Phi Phi Island Hopper Gold Tour and a Phang Nga Sea Canoe tour.
Ahhh.. the weather, everyone’s favorite subject. Or so it would seem based on the number of conversations that revolve around it. 
