Gold Coast Weather Guide

About Gold Coast Weather

No matter what the weather is on the Gold Coast...
... there is always something AWESOME to do here!

When you are planning a holiday and then going on it, weather plays a very important role.

When I plan a trip the first thing I want to know is what the weather will be like! And about 2 weeks before I go, I start checking what the weather is actually like day by day, so that I can do those last minute tweeks to my packing or itinerary.

The weather is certainly appearing to become more unpredictable, so this information is just a guide. There can be extreme and fast evolving weather events, that are way outside the norms discussed here.

That is why you need to look at weather from the two aspects I mention. General weather expectations for planning and then closer to the time, keep an eye on the current weather conditions.

This page is quite long, but has lots of useful Gold Coast weather statistics and information. It is a bit more formal in places, but I have tried to help break up the tables with my interpretations of the weather in the Gold Coast!

In my month by month guides you will find a page on each month of the year January through to December. For each month I have tried to explain what the weather feels like. This information is great because you can read about it in context with what else is going on at that time.

Choosing when to visit, or finding out what the weather will be like when you visit, helps in the planning process.

The weather determines things like:

• If you can swim at the beach - which can do almost year round, by the way
• What clothes to pack - warmer clothes or cooler clothes, beachwear or raincoats and closed in shoes
• Whether your accommodation should have airconditioning or heating?
• Should you choose somewhere to stay with a heated pool or an indoor pool for the kids?
• Will it be too hot or humid to walk around alot? Particularly if your party includes younger children or grandparents.

As you can see, the weather can influence some of your choices when planning out your holiday, even before you get to planning out the activities in your itinerary. I step you through a process for taking all this into account in my planning cheat sheets and other resources - you can find them by clicking on the link below.

So let's get on to what affects the weather and what you can expect generally.

On a grand scale the east coast of Australia is affected by factors such as:

• el nino - dry weather patterns
• la nina - wet weather patterns

These two major patterns create extremes of dry and wet. It is worth considering this when looking at weather information as the variations can be large!

Although the Gold Coast is rarely affected by a direct hit from a Tropical Cyclone, cyclones further north in Queensland can move south and create winds, rough seas and lots of rain that carries on for a couple of days.

Tropical cyclones only form above the ocean when it reaches a certain temperature, so they are generally within the summer and early autumn months with most occuring between January and March.

Another weather phenomenon that can affect the Gold Coast, in fact any part of the eastern seaboard of Australia, is called an East Coast Low - or an ECL.

They form extremely quickly, can be slow moving, rarely head inland, so they mostly affect the coastal areas and can dump large amounts of rain in a very short time causing flash flooding.

Again, these are rare, but they can occur, and the reason I mention them, is that once you get to your holiday location, it's a good idea to stay a little connected with the local weather conditions in case you need to rearrange your itinerary.

ECLs can affect your plans in the following ways:

• disrupt traffic - flooded and closed roads can make it hard to get to the airport on time
• flights can be delayed or cancelled during extreme conditions
• attractions can be closed
• water based activities such as scuba or snorkelling can be cancelled not only during the event, but for a few days afterwards due to poor visibility after the rainwater runs off into the sea
• beaches can be closed during and after the ECL has come and gone - the skies may be blue but the ocean can have treacherous surf

So, if I knew an ECL was coming, and the weather was good, I would look to rearrange my activities so that I could do any of the beach, rainforest tours and water based activities before they became affected by the weather conditions.

Although attractions may end up being closed for some of the event, they are more likely to reopen for your enjoyment as soon as any hazards have subsided.

Gold Coast Weather and Seasons

Australia's seasons are counter to the Northern Hemisphere. I still am not used to that one after nearly 2 decades living in Australia!

This is what I mean...

Therefore, in Australia....

• Christmas is during the height of Summer
• August is in Winter !

Winter in the Gold Coast - it's a bit like a typical British summer! You can almost be forgiven for getting these months mixed up!

Seasonal Gold Coast Weather Table

The following table gives an overview of the weather during each season covering average high & low temperatures during the day, humidity and rainfall comparisons. These are the three most important aspects to consider at the top level of planning a holiday.

Viewing Full Table: If you are viewing this on a very small screen or smartphone, the table may appear to be cut off, however, you can scroll through the table using the bar at the bottom or using your touchscreen to swipe. I recommend you view this on a larger screen, sometimes just turning your phone or tablet into landscape can be enough to view the table in full.

A general indication of the seasons showing averages. The monthly table at the bottom of this webpage shows the rare but possible historical extremes as well as averages.

Seasons at a Glance

SPRING
September to November
 

SUMMER
December to February
 

AUTUMN
March to May
 

WINTER
June to August
 

Gold Coast Weather Variations

Even within the relatively small area of the Gold Coast weather does vary. You will notice differences from North to South and from the coast as you move West into the Hinterland.

For example...

• Coolangatta in the south has more rainy days per month than Southport (30kms further north)
• Southport has higher rainfall

You could interpret this as - it rains less but harder in Southport! Both are on the coast so you wouldn't imagine in such a small distance there would be such a difference, but there is based on the long term averages!

General weather variations on the Gold Coast include:

• Winter temperatures inland drop quickly when the sun goes down or if the wind picks up.
• Summer temperatures in inland areas are generally a few degrees hotter.
• Coastal areas get the refreshing ocean breeze during summer to cool down the temperatures and make it more bearable.
• Humidity tends to drop during the day. The exception to this is during the Summer when a storm is brewing - in which case the humidity tends to build to very high levels until the storm breaks.
• Humidity is higher in the hinterland than on the coast. The difference is only a couple of percentage points – but when it’s hot and humid, that can make quite a difference to your comfort!
• Humidity is much more noticeable when the temperatures are above 25C. If you are likely to be affected by this, March to October would be a great time for you to visit.

Overall, there are a few things that stay the same. Always drink plenty of water and if you are planning a trip into the hinterland make sure you have suitable clothing and carry water with you. I always carry a rain mac or umbrella.

In the winter, layers are best because the temperatures can rise and fall significantly during the day and when the sun goes down.

Gold Coast Weather Data

In the table below you will see the long time averages and extremes of temperatures both highs and lows. The extremes are just that... extreme, but this information can give you a little idea of where the temperatures can go - averages are just that.

I've included the percentage of rainy days per month, as this gives a good indication of the likelihood of wet weather. Where this data can be misleading is that, it doesn't mean that it will rain the whole day, it counts any day on which there was any rain - even a light shower.

Average humidity, doesn't need much explanation, except to say, that I think these statistics are gain slightly misleadig, in that it doesn't look like humidity changes much, but it does! I notice the difference even during the winter when I fly to or from Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide. As soon as I get off the aircraft I am hit by the humidity - we just get used to it here.

So, whilst the humidity drops during the winter months, it is still pretty high. And the summer data doesn't show how high it gets or how muggy it feels. If you find hot weather difficult, then our summers with the very high humidity can stop you in your tracks.

If you aren't a fan of heat and humidity, then avoid the months of December and January and be cautious of November and February. The rest of the time, most people find the conditions perfect

Please Note: The data in this table has been compiled and averaged over the 4 Gold Coast weather stations. Check out variations for more information on how this can affect your holiday.

Viewing Full Table: If you are viewing this on a very small screen or smartphone, the table may appear to be cut off, however, you can scroll through the table using the bar at the bottom or using your touchscreen to swipe. I recommend you view this on a larger screen, sometimes just turning your phone or tablet to landscape view can be enough to see the table in full.