Just when we were thinking March was going to stay dry, thinking the drought would continue, we finally get some rain. With the weather so hot, it's often about this time of year that we start to get some afternoon thunderstorms. I love a heavy downpour accompanied by a rumble of thunder. After it finishes, the air is clear and fresh, the sky clears and the night is cool.

Sunday night was the first, dark clouds spilling over the hills to where I work at Karon Beach and maybe 15 minutes of heavy rain. I was already on the way home but pulled over to the side of the road for a while - the rain cut visibility, and I did not want to drive over the hill from Kata to Chalong in that rain. The road has been widened in the last year but it's still steep and twisty in places.

Monday (yesterday) 29th March - a much bigger thunderstorm, again starting around 6pm, just before I left our dive shop. Again, I waited for the heaviest rain to pass. On the way home I could see the effect of this little storm with lots of minor flooding on the roads, municipal workers trying to clear some blocked drains. There was a power cut in some areas of Kathu district, but not at our house.

The sudden rain after many dry weeks was worthy of a place in the local news. The Phuket Wan website put a story online last night saying "Phuket Lashed by Deluge" - yeh, nice dramatic title, I think "Lashed" might be a bit strong! A couple of photos:





Top photo shows the hill between Patong and Kathu.. another one I would not drive over in that rain. Second photo - flooding on the road outside Simon Cabaret on the edge of Patong - that section of road ALWAYS floods in the rain.

And this was the result of only about 45 minutes of rain!

Amazingly - I asked my buddy Steen who collects rainfall data - he recorded NO rain on Sunday and just 28mm on Monday! He lives in Patong. This rainfall can be very isolated. Indeed on Sunday when I got home (I live in the Kathu area between Patong and Phuket Town), our street was dry.

This evening, more rain, started about 5pm, all over by about 5:30 - 5:45. Very heavy in Karon Beach at our shop.. Steen told me he got 10mm only! I saved the image loop from the Phuket Weather Radar at around 5pm. The radar shows heavy cloud and rain, you can see it coming from the northeast across Krabi and Phang Nga...



The time shown on the top right is UTC, so the final image in the loop is at 09:53 UTC or 4:53pm local time - about when the rain started. The Phuket Weather Radar image is updated every 20 minutes. If there's going to be some rain, you can see it coming!

Tomorrow it would not surprise me if we have the same weather - hot day, thunderstorm in the evening. It's nice and cool tonight - the Thai Meteorological Department website says the temperature is 25.2°C right now, and last night was 24°C - nice and cool thanks to the rain, I won't even need the aircon.

Forecast: Hot and sunny with evening rain

Not really related save for the inclusion of the words "A Hard rain's gonna fall" and I like it... Sir Bob sings:

Well, we're not in a desert here. Phuket is a very green place, with jungly forested hills and and average of 100 inches of rain per year (see Phuket Rainfall Averages). But this is the dry season. During the months December - March the average rainfall is less than 10 inches - a full 4 months getting just 10% of the yearly rainfall. So I guess I should not be surprised that it feels hot and there's no rain! Last month there was just 12mm of rain recorded in Patong. March so far : 10mm. Average for March is around 100mm (4 inches). There was some promising cloud a couple of days ago, but nothing happened.

Looking at the Phuket Weather Radar gives an idea of whether any rain is in the area. Right now as I type, I can see some dots of cloud, there might be a drop of rain in there, but that's on the mainland around Krabi and Phang Nga. This evening in Phuket, hot and windless. We have no aircon in our living room, but that might change. I like to feel comfortable. On nights like this, for sure the aircon is turned on for sleeping, but I'd also like to feel rather less sweaty while blogging.. and the bedroom's not really big enough to move the computer desk into. the cost of installing an aircon unit is not large, around 15 - 20,000 Baht will get one big enough for our lounge.. but the electric bill at this time of year shoots up - last month was 2,600 Baht. In the cooler season it's around half of that.

Customers come into the dive shop and make approving noises, pretend to be interested in masks, and hang around a while to get cool before braving the heat again. When you come here direct from Northern Europe or the frozen wastes of Canada it can be a shock. First time I went any place real hot was 1985, a trip to India. I melted on the first day. Could not believe that heat could be so hot! Rule 1: drink lots of water. Today has been a scorcher, around 36 - 37 degrees C (that's close to 100 Fahrenheit, in case you are American). I call that "hot".

Actually, it's not so hot. The photo below shows a much younger me, back in the summer of 1991. Location: Sacramento, California. 110°F in the shade.



On Saturday (20th) we took advantage of the great weather and did something I have meant to do for a while. More will be on my Phuket blog later.. We had lunch at Samchong Seafood in Phang Nga, less than an hours drive from home, and from the restaurant we arranged a longtail boat into Phang Nga Bay for the afternoon, visiting James Bond Island and Koh Panyee. Weather: Perfick. A couple of photos below...







More photos of the trip @ James Bond Island on Flickr.

And all about Our Visit to James Bond Island on the Phuket Blog.

A great day out. I love the Phang Nga area. We'll probably do the same trip when my parents come over here in September... although the weather in September is rather different.

How much longer will this rainless sky last? Normally April is a bit wetter than March, there should be some thunderstorms in the evenings now and then. The winds have now died down.. there have been some fair breezes blowing from the northeast this month. With no wind, cloud has more chance to build over the hills. Maybe in the next week we'll get an end to the drought :)

Forecast: Hot, Real Hot.

Added: I am informed by a couple of friends who live around Kata and Rawai beaches that it rained for 20 minutes Tuesday night around 2am.. Simon says "It rained in Rawai Tuesday morning for about 20 minutes at 2am - how do I know, cos the wife had cleaned the sofa and left it outside to dry, she woke me up when the rain started to bring it in, off I go and one step on the wet tiles and I'm flat on my back with my foot under my buttocks ... by the time I got to the sofa it was soaked and the rain stopped just as I finished dragging it in - should have stayed in bed!! - blooming weather!??! :-)"

Another week in Phuket - this is the hot season, still no rain, that's got to be 6 weeks now with hardly a sniff of a shower. I can really start to see plants wilting, looking thirsty. I don't want to waste water, but do need to water the garden almost daily now. My wife too the kids up to Bang Wad Reservoir a couple of days ago to ride bikes - she says the water level looked healthy. These days they pump water into the reservoir from other sources such as old mines. Although plans are in progress to build another reservoir for an increasingly thirsty Phuket. Meanwhile, Bang Wad, which is a popular recreational area for locals, is being given a huge overhaul to create a recreational park.

I would say that normally by mid March you'd expect some rain, some evening thunderstorms. If you look back at previous years you can see March 2009 was wetter but 2008 and 2007 were very dry - see March 2009, March 2008, March 2007.

Saturday last week was my day off - every other day hiding in the airconditioned office. After a long hot day, we made an effort (the whole family) to get off our backsides and see something different. The Heroines Memorial Fair in Thalang (between the airport and town) celebrates the battle of Thalang in 1785. It was a big event, we'll go again next year now that we know more about it. A couple of photos...





More photos of the festival on my Phuket Blog - Phuket Heroines festival.

This weekend, I'm hoping to take the family out again, plus my wife's sister who will be visiting - we hope to get out to James Bond Island after a seafood lunch in Phang Nga. Pretty sure the weather will be good!

Anyone been in Phuket recently? Got a blog? Do let me know!

Forecast: Hotter

I will post here weather related news that I happen to see online and remember to post here - anything related to the Phuket area or major weather from Thailand.

July 26th - It's windy and the beaches are rough, not safe to swim right now - Phuket Gazette has a warning : DO NOT SWIM at the moment, except in a hotel pool! I wrote an article last month - PLEASE DO NOT DROWN IN PHUKET.

Here we go. Low season. Waves at the beaches. Rip currents. Drownings. Red Flags? Flying but being ignored... American Tourist drowns at Karon Beach this week.

Phuket Gazette reports, June 12th that flooding is still a problem in parts of Patong. That would be coz all the trees are in a tree museum or something like that :)

Omen was there. Gazette reported on the 4th, beware of landslides. News on 6th June - 2 workers killed by landslide in building site. See report on Phuket Gazette.

June 4th - Rainy season finally here. Phuket prepares for landslides - hillside areas in Phuket, especially where there is construction, are at risk of landslides - see Phuket Gazette.

June 2nd - After a dry May, Phuket faces water shortages. (well, maybe not - see June 4th)

April 7th - apparently there was a Tsunami Alert and people evacuated from hotels. Well, I didn't know anything about it until I woke up and saw "Tsunami Alert Lifted" on the BBC. Big quake in Sumatra, no tsunami. But well done to everyone for raising the alarm.

April 1st - Phuket water woes averted! Phuket Gazette reports that recent heavy downpours have ensured that Phuket should now have enough water to last until the rainy season, according to the Phuket Provincial Irrigation Office.

A Phuket Provincial Meteorological officer said that, “The recent rain in Phuket has been brought in on trade winds from China. It's unexpected rain and we should be back to the normal season soon, although this year's rainy season may be late because of the El Niño phenomenon.”

March 29th - we got rain! Several evenings worth of heavy downpours causing the usual local flooding in the same old places. Nothing serious, but anyway, the heat has broken at last. Phuket Wan reported, somewhat over dramatically Phuket Lashed By Deluge - and this weather blog has some photos and information too.

March 26th - the Bangkok Post reports that 53 provinces have been affected by drought.. apparently "The disaster prevention and mitigation offices in these provinces have distributed more than 78 million cubic million litres of water to drought-hit people, repaired 3,645 weirs, dredged 3,985 reservoirs, and installed 689 water pumps to alleviate the people's hardship."

March 19th - Yes, it has been very dry for the last couple of months. We have no water problems where I live, but a report in a local blog says that hundreds are without water in the center of the island around Pa Khlok and Cherng Talay.

March 11th - the Phuket Gazette reports today that a site has been fixed for another large reservoir in Phuket. The new one is planned for a large area of land at the Nakkerd Hills between Phuket Town and Chalong, close to Luang Phu Supha temple. Water shortages are not a huge issue yet, but with continued development, the one main reservoir at Bang Wad has been known to get rather empty now and then. Work is already underway to increase storage at some old tin mine ponds in the north of Phuket Town.

March 11th - on the Gulf side of Thailand, some summer storms - we heard from my wifes parents in Chumphon that the rain was lashing down last night - and the Thai new site MCOT reports that a severe summer storm generating high waves hit central Thailand's Prachuap Khiri Khan shoreline on Thursday capsizing three fishing boats and caused two others to go missing. At this time of year it's often very hot and dry all over Thailand. Camille's Koh Samui blog reports heavy rain last night, but the day before he reported "The drought is becoming more and more of a problem. All major hotels on Samui (and smaller ones as well) have water trucks delivering water each day."!

March 10th - reports that Phuket is to get a new weather radar.. although there is one already . I guess the new one would have some knobs and bells on. There is a claim that it would be able to give tsunami warnings too... er, surely that's what the tsunami warning buoys are for .... (see report below March 6th) can a radar see a small wave? A tsunami wave out at sea may only be a few cm high, a few feet max, same as a normal wave. I think someone is talking ****!

March 8th - A nice report on the Al Jazeera website about the dry weather - the Mekong river is getting dry - water levels at a 20 year low. Partly due to the weather, partly due to the Chinese building dams and hogging all the water.

March 6th - Phuket to get more tsunami warning buoys - reported in the Phuket Gazette. The National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) has confirmed that its disaster warning system is working well and says two more tsunami direct detection units on order from Italy should be deployed off the Andaman Coast by year end. NDWC Director Viriya Mongkolveerapan told the Gazette that the government is spending more than 100 million baht for the two new buoys. One will be deployed about 10 to 20 kilometers off the coast of Phuket and the other a similar distance off the coast of Ranong.

There was a sprinkling of rain the week before last, but I tell you, it's hot. Real hot. Hot as the hinges of Hades. Hot as a 2 dollar whore on the 4th of July. So dry the trees are bribing the dogs. We've had some right stinkers the last couple of weeks. And no rain. It's at this time of year that the alternative term for low season, "Green Season" makes sense. Right now you can see that the plants need some water, grass getting browner, the sky looks dry, very few clouds around, not much in the way of cooling breezes either. And very little to update on a weather blog! Would get a bit dull. Hot. Hot. Very hot. Scorchio. Hot.

The amazing weather can now be appreciated on 2 webcams that I have copied onto this blog - the easy answer to the question "what's the weather like now?".

• Webcam at Karon Beach
• Webcam at Surin Beach

It's a good time for scuba diving with calm seas, warm waters (normal water temp at this time of year 29 - 30°C). Dive shop has been busy. This is where you'll find me most of the time - Sunrise Divers, Karon Beach. I might even escape the office for some diving over the next couple of weeks!

I did get out last Thursday, which happened to be my birthday. A day in the sun leading to some nice red skin (but it's brown now). I went out on the Sky Water speedboat which belongs to Gilbert (Sunrise Diver's owner), along with Patrick (an Italian real estate developer) and his boat. The plan was to get some aerial photos made using the services of Helicam (www.helicam.asia). As it happens I know one of the owners of Helicam (Phil) who was the helicopter pilot for the days photography. A full account of the day will be on Jamie's Phuket soon! A few photos of the day.. we spent the day at Koh Rang Yai, a small island off the east coast of Phuket.





• Speedboat, Wakeboarding and the Helicam (on Jamie's Phuket Blog)

It's nearly holiday time.. for the kids. They are doing end of year tests at school this week and then have the 2 month "summer" holiday - which coincides with the hottest time of year. Yes, it's going to get hotter. I think this year I might crack and install aircon in our living room. Blame global warming... which I will then contribute to. It's a two edged sword. You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs. Did I mention it's hot in Phuket right now?

Update May 2016. Catch Beach Club has been demolished. No webcam here :)

There are a few webcams on the Phuket weather blog. I have meant to add this webcam for a while now, it is located at the Catch Beach Club at Surin Beach which is near the Twin Palms Resort, but is open to all. I added this webcam in 2010. There has been quite a change in 2014, with much of Catch Beach Club being removed (along with all other businesses built on the sand). They still have a building on the east side of the beach road but for now the view from the beach club is just palm trees, sand, sea and sky!



• More Webcams

Surin Beach has got more developed over the years with lots of villas, nice hotels and luxury houses in the hills. The beach itself is still quiet compared to the main Phuket beaches and despite the development it's quite pleasant, though it is pretty crowded in high season. Still, many of the hotels are quite exclusive so you can escape to your own private fantasy world!

• More Surin Beach Hotels @ Agoda.com
• Phuket Hotel Recommendations on Jamie's Phuket Blog