Mackay weather by month & the best time to visit
🇦🇺 Australia · beach resort · tropical — wet & dry seasons climate
The best time to visit Mackay is August — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 93/100), with September and July close behind. Mackay averages about 3,009 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 22°C / 72°F and roughly 20 mm of rain in August.
Jump to: month-by-month table · sea temperature · nearby alternatives · embed this data
- Sun hours / year
- 3,009
- Sunniest month
- August
- Peak score
- 93/100
- Rain / year
- 1,169 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 12 (extreme)
- Sea at warmest
- 30°C / 86°F
- Population
- 84k
- Elevation
- 5 m
When is the best time to visit Mackay?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Mackay is August, then September and July. The dullest month is January (69/100, 224 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Mackay?
Mackay is one of the sunniest places on Earth: about 3,009 hours of sunshine a year. August (93/100) is noticeably better than January (69). It ranks #67 of 118 destinations in Australia for annual sunshine, below the national median of 3,071 hours. Rain has a clear season: the wettest stretch, around February, carries about 58% of the annual 1,169 mm.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69 | 28° / 82°F | 26° / 79°F | 224 mm | 12 | 30° / 86°F |
| February | 69 | 28° / 82°F | 26° / 79°F | 253 mm | 12 | 30° / 86°F |
| March | 69 | 28° / 82°F | 26° / 79°F | 197 mm | 11 | 28° / 82°F |
| April | 81 | 26° / 79°F | 24° / 75°F | 87 mm | 9 | 26° / 79°F |
| May | 87 | 24° / 75°F | 22° / 72°F | 54 mm | 6 | 24° / 75°F |
| June | 88 | 22° / 72°F | 20° / 68°F | 50 mm | 5 | 22° / 72°F |
| July | 91 | 21° / 70°F | 19° / 66°F | 30 mm | 6 | 21° / 70°F |
| August | 93 | 22° / 72°F | 19° / 66°F | 20 mm | 7 | 21° / 70°F |
| September | 93 | 24° / 75°F | 21° / 70°F | 21 mm | 9 | 24° / 75°F |
| October | 91 | 25° / 77°F | 23° / 73°F | 33 mm | 11 | 26° / 79°F |
| November | 85 | 27° / 81°F | 24° / 75°F | 64 mm | 11 | 28° / 82°F |
| December | 72 | 28° / 82°F | 26° / 79°F | 136 mm | 12 | 29° / 84°F |
Sea temperature in Mackay by month
The sea off Mackay is warmest in January at around 30°C / 86°F, and coolest in July at 21°C / 70°F. The water sits at a comfortable 21°C or warmer roughly all year round. Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Mackay on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Hamilton Island Australia · 93 km · best in Sep · 3,060 h sun/yr
- Proserpine Australia · 100 km · best in Sep · 3,060 h sun/yr
- Rockhampton Australia · 279 km · best in Aug · 3,135 h sun/yr
- Townsville Australia · 330 km · best in Sep · 3,126 h sun/yr
- Cairns Australia · 598 km · best in Aug · 2,763 h sun/yr
- Sunshine Coast Australia · 722 km · best in Jul · 2,956 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Moranbah Australia · 151 km · 3,225 h sun/yr · best in Aug
- Emerald Australia · 286 km · 3,339 h sun/yr · best in May
Head-to-head
How Mackay compares month by month: Mackay vs Hamilton Island · Mackay vs Rockhampton · Mackay vs Proserpine · all comparisons
Put the Mackay sunshine badge on your site
A compact badge showing Mackay's sunshine at a glance — free to embed under CC BY 4.0. Paste this wherever you'd like it to appear:
Live preview — this is exactly what your readers see: