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The weather in Phuket follows certain patterns which are pretty easy to understand. As divers, we are naturally concerned about what the weather will be doing when we are diving. We like sun and calm seas, but diving continues all year unless it's really bad - this is very rare.
The 3 Seasons - Cool and Dry, Hot and Dry, Wet
Every year is different. We had 2 years with very little rain in 2001/2002 but August/September 2003 were very wet, which was good for the islands water supply. The weather changes to "wet" sometime between end of April to June. Normally the summer months are pretty good - certainly more sunny days than rain, but the weather in unpredictable and you can get some really wet and windy days. Rain is usually sporadic short showers and can be very localised - rain in Patong beach but not Karon, just a few km away for example.
The "good" weather starts again sometime in October/November and lasts until April/May. The months November - February are a few degrees cooler due to fresh NE winds. March and April can be really hot, with very little wind.
Phuket climate on offshore islands (Similans, Racha etc.)
It is worth noting that during the rainy season, even if it's raining on the island of Phuket, you are likely to have more sun when you are out at sea. The mountains on Phuket top 500m, so trap clouds and promote thunderstorms. Often a day's diving is sunny, with a rain shower speeding over, you'll get a suntan, but you get wet back on land! |
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