Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Charters Towers Australia

In Charters Towers, the wet season is hot, muggy, and mostly cloudy and the dry season is warm and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 47°F to 94°F and is rarely below 35°F or above 101°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Charters Towers for warm-weather activities is from mid September to late November.

The hot season lasts for 4.2 months, from October 8 to February 13, with an average daily high temperature above 91°F. The hottest month of the year in Charters Towers is December, with an average high of 94°F and low of 70°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.6 months, from May 27 to August 13, with an average daily high temperature below 80°F. The coldest month of the year in Charters Towers is July, with an average low of 47°F and high of 77°F.

In Charters Towers, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Charters Towers begins around March 29 and lasts for 8.1 months, ending around December 1.

The clearest month of the year in Charters Towers is September, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 81% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around December 1 and lasts for 3.9 months, ending around March 29.

The cloudiest month of the year in Charters Towers is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 67% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Charters Towers varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 3.9 months, from November 17 to March 15, with a greater than 20% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Charters Towers is February, with an average of 10.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 8.1 months, from March 15 to November 17. The month with the fewest wet days in Charters Towers is August, with an average of 1.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Charters Towers is February, with an average of 10.5 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 39% on February 14.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Charters Towers experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.8 months, from October 7 to August 2, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Charters Towers is January, with an average rainfall of 5.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.2 months, from August 2 to October 7. The month with the least rain in Charters Towers is September, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches.

The length of the day in Charters Towers varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 21, with 10 hours, 55 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 13 hours, 21 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:26 AM on November 26, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 25 minutes later at 6:50 AM on July 6. The earliest sunset is at 5:42 PM on June 6, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 18 minutes later at 7:00 PM on January 17.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Charters Towers during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Charters Towers experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 5.8 months, from October 28 to April 21, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 20% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Charters Towers is January, with 22.1 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Charters Towers is July, with 0.3 days that are muggy or worse.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Charters Towers experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.1 months, from September 14 to February 16, with average wind speeds of more than 9.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Charters Towers is November, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.2 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.9 months, from February 16 to September 14. The calmest month of the year in Charters Towers is June, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.0 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Charters Towers is from the east throughout the year.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Charters Towers throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Charters Towers for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid September to late November, with a peak score in the third week of October.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Charters Towers for hot-weather activities is from late October to late December, with a peak score in the third week of November.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

While it does not do so every year, freezing temperatures are seen in Charters Towers over some winters. The day least likely to be in the growing season is July 13, with a 61% chance.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Charters Towers should appear around July 8, only rarely appearing before July 7 or after July 11.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from September 23 to January 11, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.9 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Charters Towers is November, with an average of 7.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.7 months, from May 4 to July 27, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Charters Towers is June, with an average of 4.5 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Charters Towers are -20.077 deg latitude, 146.264 deg longitude, and 1,047 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Charters Towers contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 433 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,030 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (604 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (2,710 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Charters Towers is covered by sparse vegetation (54%) and artificial surfaces (30%), within 10 miles by sparse vegetation (81%) and trees (10%), and within 50 miles by sparse vegetation (78%) and trees (14%).