August in Phuket

So, the last update on the Phuket weather blog was August 1st and it was a rainy start to August. In fact, we've had plenty of rain in the first 11 days of the month, though nothing spectacular. The average for August is over 300mm and so far I have measured about 150mm. While this blog is only updated a few times per month, I do tend to post weather updates on Twitter and regular photos on Instagram that show the weather too. Is this because I am obsessed by the weather? Not really, it's because I know that just about every visitor to Phuket wants to know the weather.. which is why this blog started as a separate blog to my main Phuket Blog in 2006. And of course everyone wants sun, not rain. And some of you get it! Just remember, Phuket is a tropical island. Tropical places get rain and often plenty of it! And this is low season, so you cannot expect sunny days all the time. Low season is a mixed bag and you have to smile and take what you are given.

On August 1st .. the first Tweet of the month "It's gone all wet again .. my rain gauge says 73mm of rain in the last 24 hours. And skies are dark, dark, dark this morning" and as I recall most of the day was wet and grey.



(above) View from my front door, morning August 1st. It did clear up later and we headed into Phuket Town for an early dinner.



(above) VW Beetle on Thalang Road in old Phuket Town.

August 2nd, another morning Tweet to send chills into the hearts of tourists : "Good morning from a wet Phuket! It's all grey and rainy this morning, probably will be like this all day." .. Well it did not rain all day, but still not holiday weather!



(above) View from the little restaurant in Karon where I ate lunch on August 2nd. It pi$$ed with rain for about 45 minutes.

August 3rd was better, and the 4th even better. No rain measured at my house, though do note that low season showers can often be brief and isolated. It may have rained in other parts of the island, but not at my house.

 

(above) Saturday 3rd August included a tasty plate of Khao Man Gai (rice with chicken) and a visit to the Southwind 2nd hand bookshop in Phuket Town to trade in some old books. Weather on the 3rd was OK, not wet, not really sunny.

The 4th and 5th were lovely (of course I was working on those days). My wife and kids went to the Phuket Wake Park on the 4th and the kids want to go again.

Weather on the 5th (Monday) ...



(above) Sky over Karon beach on 5th August, lovely day!



(above) I stopped on the way home to snap some beach photos and stumbled on a couple having wedding snaps taken.

Weather was very nice, but again.... take note ... in low season there can be big waves. A sunny day does not mean it's safe to swim. On the 5th, someone drowned at Karon a couple of hours before I took that wedding photo (see news here). The waves can be big, and there can be rip currents at Karon and some other beaches. Best to swim in the hotel pool.

There was some light rain the night of the 5th, and then quite a lot more on the 6th, though it was very changeable.

On Twitter, 6th August "It's going to be one of those days! I'll have to make weather updates every 15 mins! Blue sky now gone, only dark skies and raining again :)"

The 7th - mostly very nice. After work I dashed to the Bang Wad Reservoir to get my exercise (a 6.5km walk/run around the reservoir), but just as I got there, heavy rain started...



(above) Rain at the reservoir, 5:53pm, 7th August

But by the time I had Tweeted a photo and moaned about the rain, it started to clear up. I waited and suddenly we had blue skies again. The photo below was taken 13 minutes after the one above. Sometimes these heavy showers are really brief!



(above) Blue skies at the reservoir, 6:06pm, 7th August

8th August, a working day and a quick Tweet "Phuket weather today - much nicer :)"

9th August "This morning's weather ... it's not really doing anything. Not really sunny. No rain. Not much wind. Weather is having a day off."

10th August another day off ... but not the best of weather. A summary of the day by iPhone / Instagram :



(above) Rear view mirror shot at the traffic lights ... motorbike taxi and very dark skies behind!



(above) Draught Singha beer, thank you. We had a nice lunch at Laem Hin Seafood, always been a favourite place.



(above) And the evening weather was OK for a brief walk at the reservoir.

And yesterday (11th) was "Half sun, some cloud, some rain .. Today was mostly nice until mid afternoon"

And that's all from the Phuket weather desk for now! Remember to follow me on Twitter! And if you need hotel information and booking - I recommend Agoda.