Climate averages 1991–2020
Cairns weather
in October.
A warm, fairly dry month: the 6th warmest and the 5th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
October is a warm month in Cairns: daytime highs average 27.7°C and nights cool to about 21.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the 6th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 31 mm of rain on roughly 7 days, which makes October a fairly dry month (the 5th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 28 min on an average October day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Townsville (283 km away). In October its highs average 28.8°C, 1.1°C warmer than Cairns, with 22 mm of rain.
Among the 32 cities listed in Australia, Cairns ranks 4th of 32 for the warmest October highs and 4th of 32 for the driest October (rainfall, lowest first). The mean October high of those 32 cities is 22.2°C; Cairns is 5.5°C warmer than that mean.
From October to November, average highs rise by 1.3°C to 29.0°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 31 mm to 57 mm.
The annual picture
October in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Cairns climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29.7°C24.8°C | 24.8°C | 245 | 21.2 | 13.013 h |
| February | 29.6°C24.9°C | 24.9°C | 256 | 20.9 | 12.713 h |
| March | 28.7°C24.2°C | 24.2°C | 206 | 17.9 | 12.212 h |
| April | 27.3°C22.9°C | 22.9°C | 94 | 12.7 | 11.712 h |
| May | 25.6°C21.2°C | 21.2°C | 41 | 9.5 | 11.311 h |
| June | 24.2°C19.5°C | 19.5°C | 27 | 7.0 | 11.111 h |
| July | 23.5°C18.6°C | 18.6°C | 27 | 5.9 | 11.211 h |
| August | 24.3°C18.7°C | 18.7°C | 23 | 5.5 | 11.512 h |
| September | 26.3°C20.2°C | 20.2°C | 14 | 4.1 | 12.012 h |
| October, selected | 27.7°C21.8°C | 21.8°C | 31 | 6.5 | 12.512 h |
| November | 29.0°C23.3°C | 23.3°C | 57 | 10.4 | 12.913 h |
| December | 29.7°C24.4°C | 24.4°C | 142 | 16.1 | 13.113 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
October in nearby cities
- Townsville in OctoberAustralia · 283 kmHigh 28.8°C · Low 21.3°C · 22 mm rain
- Mackay in OctoberAustralia · 591 kmHigh 25.5°C · Low 21.1°C · 34 mm rain
- Sunshine Coast in OctoberAustralia · 1319 kmHigh 24.4°C · Low 17.4°C · 80 mm rain
- Caloundra in OctoberAustralia · 1334 kmHigh 24.2°C · Low 17.4°C · 80 mm rain
- Toowoomba in OctoberAustralia · 1343 kmHigh 24.3°C · Low 12.0°C · 66 mm rain
- Brisbane in OctoberAustralia · 1390 kmHigh 25.7°C · Low 16.1°C · 72 mm rain
- Logan City in OctoberAustralia · 1410 kmHigh 25.0°C · Low 16.2°C · 67 mm rain
- Gold Coast in OctoberAustralia · 1461 kmHigh 23.4°C · Low 17.3°C · 75 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Cairns) is explained once on the Cairns year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.