Northern
Australian climate is different from the southern one.
As opposed to
the Northern Hemisphere, where the climate is warmer in the south, in
Australia
and other countries in the Southern Hemisphere, the further north you go the warmer it gets.
Southern parts of the country have cooler climate, while up here it is hot and humid
enough for tropical rainforests to grow.
While southern parts of the country have four seasons - spring, summer,
autumn and winter - up
here, we only have two - the Wet and the Dry.
Australian
Climate
But
Australian climate can be confusing for anyone from the
Northern
Hemisphere. Firstly, as you may know, our seasons are the opposite from
the Northern Hemisphere:
Northern Hemisphere
Southern Australia
Northern Australia
March
- May
Spring
Autumn
The
Wet
June
- August
Summer
Winter
The
Dry
September
- November
Autumn
Spring
The
Dry
December
- February
Winter
Summer
The
Wet
While it is winter in the in
the Northern Hemisphere we have summer and so on. But that's in southern
Australia.
Up here, we have the Wet
Season roughly from December to May, and the Dry Season roughly
from June to November.
These are
rough estimates and as close as you get, because from year to year the beginning
of the Wet and the Dry season may vary.
(Both
actually used to start earlier, but lately the Wet has finished as late
as in June, and the beginning of the Wet has
also been pushed from November to December/January. When we had cyclone
Larry
in March 2006, a cyclone that late in the season was quite unusual. Now
it wouldn't surprise me at all if we had a big cyclone in April.
Within the Wet and the
Dry, there are distinctive patterns.
Dry
Months
The Dry
Season
May
- June
The change-over
is of course gradual
so in the beginning of the Dry season there is still a lot of water
around but the big rains
do finally stop.
July
- August
The Dry season kicks in
properly, the weather is cool and sunny, and Cape York gets very busy with
visitors. It is the best time of the year to visit
climate-wise, but not if you don't like crowds.
September
- October
The weather is getting gradually warmer, but is still dry and
the crowds are gradually taking off. This
is a good time to visit if
you want more room for yourself, and can handle higher
temperatures.
Wet
Months
Early
Wet thunderstorms
Early Wet
Late Wet
Season
November
- December
The weather is getting
hot
enough that thunderstorms start building in late afternoons
and evenings. You put up with heat and a few showers,
but can have the place for yourself, because by
November almost all travellers have taken off.
This is the time I like to get around, however you have to watch
yourself and get outta here before the real rains come in and you risk
to get stuck up here because creek
and river waters rise quickly with heavy rains.
January
- February
Some time in January, but this can vary - the thunderstorm weather changes to
moonsoonal rains.
The hot build-up is over, the grey cloud cover moves in with
ever-lasting rains.
Temperatures cool down, so no thunderstorms build
up anymore. It's just raining, and everything
gets very wet.
This is the time for floods
in Queensland
and by now you should be out of Cape York long
ago!
March
- April The rains continue,
the cyclone-watch wesbites are busy, Cape York travellers are
planning.. The opening
of the roads has in recent years really happened later and
later, and in 2010 and 2011 they opened as late as in June.
Summary
of Northern Australian Climate
The
Dry Season
So you see the patterns - roads really get dry when the Dry has kicked in properly by
June or
so. Then the build-up to the wet season starts gradually
from September.
It gets hotter and hotter, until in
November or so is the Troppo season when everyone goes mad
because it's so hot. The heat builds up thunder
storms in the
afternoons.
Early
thunderstorms
start building up in Novemeber in Weipa. It's still sunny, still hot,
we're just getting
a few
showers.
The first parts of the days are crazily
hot, the second part it's thundering
and lightening and
raining..
It does cool the temperatures down late in days and evenings, and the
storms sure are spectacular but it can also be dangerous (read more
about thunderstorm
safety).
The
Wet Season
Then, usually some time
in January, it turns - the Wet kicks in properly. This is
the most
misunderstood season by southern Australians.
They think it is hot
here, but it is not (well for us up here anyway, because we are used to
the tropical temperatures).
It
is only hot until the buildup lasts, the buildup
that gets so hot in the end that thunderstorms start getting worse and
worse.
But once the real monsoonal cloud cover and big rains roll in
some time in January,
the weather actually
cools down a fair bit.
It is not uncommon that I
wear a jumper this time of the year - the weather is cool and the
moisture gets in everywhere - your clothes, computers, and
all the way through our houses. It's not
hot but it sure
is wet! Wet
Season has kicked in.
It's not
sunny, not
hot, all it
is it's WET.
Grey skies
and rain for months,
Cape York roads
get boggy,
slippery and flooded in places.
It
can be a boring season (unless you, like me, just sit in front of
the computer and work through it.. ;-) and it lasts for months.
It is
also the tropical
cyclone
(hurricane)
season, and when we get them, the cyclone
impact only means even more rain...
All that goes on until about May (the latest - Cyclone Zane
- is a good reminder that a late cyclone can hit; however - we do not
get flooded in the way south east Queensland does - read more about Cyclone
Oswald).
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guide totally for FREE.
It
contains information that helps you getting started with planning of your trip.
You get to make early-stages desicions such as when to go, how long time you
should take, how to get
there and get
around, where
to stay (general info), what
will it cost..
and a short insight to what is there to see and do in Cape York.
This complete 300 pages
travel guide is all you need before and during your trip. Besides the
background chapters on the peninsula's history and wildlife; and the comprehensive detail about all
the places (down to prices, opening hours and full contact
detail), it has invaluable information on at least 10 four wheel drive tracks,
at least 30 guaranteed FREE
camping spots on the Cape (and at least 150 on your way to
the Cape), at least 40 best
swimming holes, all mapped; as well as practical things -
from fuel, roads, wireless internet and mobile phone reception,
how to deal with the national
parks booking rules; and Aboriginal land entrance and camping permits
and alcohol restrictions - to vehicle preparation and accessories and necessary recovery
gear by my vehicle-recovery-guy partner).
Not to mention locals'
tips on how to spot that croc and palm cockatoo ;-)
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This site uses British
English, which is the English we use in
Australia.
Disclaimer:
Although
best efforts have been made to ensure that all the information on this
website is correct, this site is not to be blamed should there be a
mistake.
This is the ORIGINAL Cape York Travel Guide run Locally on the Peninsula.