Weather In October?

[Here Today]

We were thinking of coming up for a visit but are not sure of the weather conditions in Oct. Is it rainy there now? If so we will come another time.

[gisele]

In the South anyway, it is rainy season, although is hasn't really started to rain every day all day yet, though I hear it raining much more in Samui.

Today, in Nakhon we had a glorious morning, not a cloud in the sky, ocean perfectly calm but this afternoon it is clouding over a little bit now.

Rainy season is not the best time to visit

but it is better than cold weather

[IamMaiC]

but it is better than cold weather

it gets cold in Thailand?? what time of year is this?

[gisele]

but it is better than cold weather 

it gets cold in Thailand?? what time of year is this?

cold weather such as in Canada

[IamMaiC]

but it is better than cold weather 

it gets cold in Thailand?? what time of year is this?

cold weather such as in Canada

And it snows also??

[PeaceBlondie]

All last "winter" in Chiang Mai, I rode a motorcycle through the countryside at high speed, and kept close attention to the temperature at 6:30 am. The temp. in CMai never got below 18 degrees, Celsius.

Perhaps the rainy season in Northern Thailand ends sometime in October, seldom goes into November. But it doesn't rain all day, sometimes doesn't rain for 36 hours.

Middle and late October surely aren't the worst part of the rainy season.

Would y'all agree?

[Ajarn]

We were thinking of coming up for a visit but are not sure of the weather conditions in Oct.  Is it rainy there now?  If so we will come another time.

In my experience, October is sort of a transistion month. Last year, there was rain well into November, but September is the historical 'last month' of the rainy season....The year before that, the 'cold season' lasted about three weeks... I sense we're headed into another 7-year cycle of longer rainy seasons, but my crystal ball is clouded...

I'd say don't sweat it, even on a bike... The only thing I'd think twice about is trekking now. Pretty slippery yucky mud around here. When it does rain, it usually only lasts for a few minutes... All along the roads all over the north are Salas, for travelers to rest in, many of them big enough to role your bike right into. You can meet some very interesting folks during a down pour- like the 15 little neens (pre-monks) halfway through their walk from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai....most of them barefoot.

I'll buy you dinner at any restaurant if, after coming here in October, you feel disappointed in your trip to the North because of the weather....Seriously

[Here Today]

Thanks for the answers. The last time we were in Thailand (June) we were in Trat near the Cambodian border and it rained every day mostly all day for over a week. Since then we have been in Bali and Malaysia; right now we are in Mersing near Johor Bharu and it is still hot and sunny.l

[chanchao]

> The only thing I'd think twice about is trekking now.

I thought you also thought twice about trekking at the best of times?

Cheers,

Chanchao

[cutethaigirl]

All last "winter" in Chiang Mai, I rode a motorcycle through the countryside at high speed, and kept close attention to the temperature at 6:30 am. The temp. in CMai never got below 18 degrees, Celsius.

That is totally not true. sorry but check the actual weather station stats.

What difference does "high Speed" make to the temperature.

I too rode at low speed and wore hat, gloves two shirts and an imported fleecy top and was still cold.

Temperature is also relative to where you have arrived from and how your body is used to.

Oct - Feb is really beautiful in the North. cool evenings and hot days.

it can be down to 6 at the top of a mountain if you plan trekking?

But sorry never below 18 is wrong.

ct

[Ajarn]

> The only thing I'd think twice about is trekking now.

I thought you also thought twice about trekking at the best of times?

Cheers,

Chanchao

Yep, twice is more than enough for me, even in the best of times

[PeaceBlondie]

All last "winter" in Chiang Mai, I rode a motorcycle through the countryside at high speed, and kept close attention to the temperature at 6:30 am. The temp. in CMai never got below 18 degrees, Celsius.

That is totally not true. sorry but check the actual weather station stats.

What difference does "high Speed" make to the temperature.

Oct - Feb is really beautiful in the North. cool evenings and hot days.....

You're right, cutethaigirl; here's the data from weather.com - I apologize that the text gets a big jumbled from one medium to another:

Records and Averages - Chiang Mai Chiang Mai Forecast

Month High Avg. Low Avg. Rain

January 28.9° C 14.4° C 0.76 cm

February 31.7° C 15.6° C 0.51 cm

March 34.4° C 18.9° C 1.52 cm

April 36.1° C 22.8° C 4.57 cm

May 33.9° C 23.9° C 15.24 cm

June 32.2° C 24.4° C 13.46 cm

July 31.7° C 23.9° C 16.76 cm

August 31.1° C 23.9° C 22.61 cm

September 31.1° C 23.3° C 25.15 cm

October 31.1° C 22.2° C 13.21 cm

November 29.4° C 19.4° C 4.32 cm

December 27.8° C 15.0° C 1.52 cm

How reliable do you think this data is? What is the statistical probility that August, Sept., and Oct. all have exactly the same average high?

Erm....high speed affects the wind chill factor, although it doesn't affect it much above 15 degrees Celsius.

[cutethaigirl]

Erm....high speed affects the wind chill factor, although it doesn't affect it much above 15 degrees Celsius.

maybe but does not affect actual temperature:-)

i went to the buffalo market one morning and had to keep stopping it was so cold!

[PeaceBlondie]

Agreed, the effect of wind does not change the temperature of the ambient air, as measured in the box at the weather station.

I hadn't researched much on wind chill factors in a long time, and this chart from the US national weather service shows that the 1945 model has been replaced recently. Now they measure the effect at 5 feet above the ground instead of 33 feet, use a more human model, etc.

I can't make the chart show up, either as a line graph or a table, but you can find it at this URL:

www.erh.noaa.gov/er/iln/tables.htm

You can see from the table that the govt. doesn't even bother to publish figures for ambient temperatures above 40 F, which is about 5 Celsius. Also, the faster you go, the wind chill factor doesn't increase dramatically. That might explain why you freeze going 20 mph (30 kph) to the Buffalo Market as much as I do on the open highway at 115 kph.

But getting back to the OP's question, inside the city of Chiang Mai, there's a certain "heat sink" due to urban heat. In contrast, on the windward side of a mountain, 10km from town, it might be several degrees colder.

[cutethaigirl]

But getting back to the OP's question, inside the city of Chiang Mai, there's a certain "heat sink" due to urban heat. In contrast, on the windward side of a mountain, 10km from town, it might be several degrees colder

Absolutely

Add about 20 degrees if you include walking near the Night Market

No wonder we get colds a lot.

Either way original poster.

CM is great at this time. Come.

[Ajarn]

And not one day of rain yet this month, right?

[Johpa]

All last "winter" in Chiang Mai, I rode a motorcycle through the countryside at high speed, and kept close attention to the temperature at 6:30 am. The temp. in CMai never got below 18 degrees, Celsius.

Middle and late October surely aren't the worst part of the rainy season.

Would y'all agree?

Nope as I have found Octobers to usally be pretty wet although the weather is dtarting to dry out by the end of the month.

It must have been a fairly mild winter if the temps never got below 18 C. The coldest temps I ever experienced was up north of Thaton when it got down to 2 C. The men in the village gave all the blankets to the kids and then sat around a bonfire drinking lao khao, I think it was hong ngen back then, until sunrise when the women folks and the kids woke up. Althopugh I never experiences anything quite that cold again, nights down to 10 C were not all that rare in December into the first week of January.

I know the city is always a few degrees warmer than the countryside so I wonder if all the development over the past decade has made the difference more pronounced.

[astral]

but it is better than cold weather 

it gets cold in Thailand?? what time of year is this?

All things are relative.

My wife and children have jumpers and coats for the cold season.

In the north it is not unusual to see frost on the higher altitudes.

The NE Monsoon will already be pushing down into Thailand.

It has probably reached Chiang Mai already and usually gets to Bangkok arouund the 1st November, almost like clockwork.

That monsoon brings the cooler and drier air down from China and persists for 4-5 months. Defenintely the best time to be here.

[Ajarn]

Actually, the SW Monsoon hits CM in May, shortly after India and regions....And slowly moves south, with the end of the rainy season in S. Thailand being November, vs Sept in CM.

And, yes, it does get cold in CM for a few weeks each year- not during the day so much, but step outside around 4am naked and you'll feel it, for sure

Too bad it's only for a few weeks, sometimes as few as 3....Not that I like being cold and naked for too long, mind you.

Since the weather works pretty much in 7 year cycles of dry/wet years, anybody know if we're due for some drier years ahead now, or some wetter ones?