An answer to the often heard question: "How much does it really rain in rainy season?"From November through April the sun shines on Phuket. The weather is warm and relatively dry, with a pleasant breeze now and then. This is a meteorological fact, this you can count on.

But what about the rainy season?
If you plan to visit Phuket between June and October it is natural and advisable to consider the rain. A lot of visitors are put off by fear that their holiday might become a bust. But actually, it could happen, that you hardly saw a single drop of rain.

Powerful rainfall
A "normal" rainy season brings a lot of water from the skys. The volume of rain pr. time unit is greater than any seasonal downpour any place in e.g. Europe.

But the periods of rainfall are mostly very short. The biggest part of rain falling in heavy concentrations and not for long durations. It is perfectly "normal" during rainy season, to have weeks, even months with dry, hot weather only to be interrupted, when huge banks of cloud built up and unleash powerful rainfalls upon the Island.

Rain Lottery
Statistics vary here. Some say this, some say that. Thailand has never been good with information and statistics but it is getting better!. "The Lonely Planet"s Thailand volume states that May and October are supposed to be Phuket's rainiest days (more than 20 days of rain on each of those two months!), but these figures seem very much exaggerated.  Certainly there is nothing in last years weather to support these figures.

Refreshing!
Actually, the rain is rather refreshing especially when you are on Phuket for a visit and do not have to work or keep appointments.

In Europe - say Scandinavia - it is common for the rain to drip for hours and days.  A steady, moist trickle, that will soak you through eventually.  We have this kind of weather in Thailand as well. Actually in the southern parts from Nakhon Sri Tammarat down to the Malaysian border. It not uncommon to experience long periods of gray and rainy weather.

But on Phuket, rain is often a very local phenomenon: You will actually see the rain moving across the land like a curtain or the boxcar of a train.

This is one of the great sights of Phuket: standing on an elevated spot and watching the rain come in.The sun shines bright and hot and at the same time huge, heavy, dark monsterous clouds roll on in.

Out there it comes, from the sea! Now the beach is being swallowed by the curtain, now the beachroad. And now the first row of houses, the second row etc. Within an accuracy of meters you will see it move and the very moment the rain hits the spot where you stand, you will hear the sound. The drumming on the roof. The rustling in the trees...

And then it goes away as abruptly as it has come.
Actually, rain on Phuket is good fun. Being a visitor on the Island, you don't have any obligation except to enjoy. So you can sit back on the verandah of your hotel or your favorite restaurant with a drink and enjoy the sights and sounds. The rain brings a nice cool feeling for all to enjoy.

Gone fishing
It is not uncommon for parts of Thailand to become submerged during and after the rainy season. Bangkok's plights are wellknown (The Venice of the East) but also Patong Beach can become flooded from one minute to another.

When the flood hits even the main streets become waterways. Motorcycles and cars alike draw big wakes. If you are lucky, you might even catch a fish or two right in the middle of the road!
You will be able to watch people sitting on high bar-stools so as not to get their feet wet, while waiters and bargirls laughingly scoop water out of their houses and shopfronts with shovels and buckets.

The Rainy season is frogs paradise. Everywhere you will hear the A Capella In Frog Major croaking, blaring and bassooning and you will realize that you are not the only one to enjoy the rainy season on Phuket!

             The Climate in General !!

Phuket has a moist, tropical climate, influenced chiefly by monsoon winds that vary in direction according to the season. From March to September, as the sun's rays strike directly above the equator, the land mass of Asia is heated more than  the Indian Ocean. This draws moist hot air from the ocean over Phuket and Southern Thailand bringing the rains of the southwest monsoon. By mid-April the winds are mainly from the southwest and are heavy with moisture.

During the month of May, it will rain an average of 25 days making it one of the wettest months of the year. When the tilt of the earth brings the direct sun rays south of the equator, the heating of the Indian Ocean draws the cooler dry air of the northeast monsoon from the highlands of Asia across the countries of South and Southeast Asia. By October the direction of the wind will have shifted to the northeast and Phuket will experience another intense but briefer wet period as the northeast monsoon sweeps down the east coast of Thailand and moves back into the Indian Ocean.

By mid November the weather on Phuket will be somewhat cooler and dryer, until March when the weather becomes perceptively warmer and more humid preceding the onset of the next monsoon. Visiting Phuket during the monsoon season is not unpleasant because most days are rain-free except for showers in the afternoon. Phuket averages 2540 mm (or about 100 inches) of rain each year.