Udon Thani Climate and Weather
As with the rest of Thailand, the weather is generally very hot, and sometimes oppressively hot, with a high humidity. Udon Thani is actually located on a plateau, some 950m above sea level, which typically means in the 'summer', it is hotter than the lower regions but in the 'winter', Udon Thani does experience a cooler spell.
A typical day in Udon Thani will see the weather racing toward 33-35 degrees C in the summer, virtually every day, with May and June perhaps being slightly hotter. At this time, life outside the house, becomes quite unbearable for long periods and one of the reasons why you do not see so many Thai's in the streets in the day (unless they have to be there). For most visitors, a good air conditioning unit is a must and for comfortable sleeping, it becomes a 'must have' item. At night, the temperatures drop to the mid 20's, although often a little higher.
Thankfully, nearly all hotels offer air conditioning, so if you are staying in a hotel, you should not have a problem. For us that have a house with an Aircon installed, it really can drive up the electricity bill.
The rest of the year is still hot in the day, but in December, Udon Thani does experience a drop in temperatures for a few days. This however is not unique in Thailand, as the Chiang Mai region, and surrounding mountains also see cooler days in December.
In Udon Thani, it is normal to have perhaps 3 or 4 nights where the temperature dips to anywhere between 15 - 20 degrees C, which does actually feel cold if you are here all year round. As I write this though, we are currently going through the longest 'cold' spell for 30 years or more (so I am led to believe). We have had nearly 4 weeks of nights below 20 degrees, of which 2 of those weeks have dropped between 9 - 13 degrees. This is great news as it allows a really comfortable nights sleep with the aircon or even a standard fan!
In the day time, temperatures rise to a more comfortable 25 - 27 degrees, still a bit too hot to do much in the way of physical work, but it is much better than normal to be out and about in the city or elsewhere.
If you visit Udon Thani in December, it is advisable to bring at least 1 jumper and/or jacket, in case you do actually need it. For the first time ion my 3 1/2 years here, I am wearing a jumper and socks most nights in the house, something I never really believed I would have to do in Thailand.
A typical day in Udon Thani will see the weather racing toward 33-35 degrees C in the summer, virtually every day, with May and June perhaps being slightly hotter. At this time, life outside the house, becomes quite unbearable for long periods and one of the reasons why you do not see so many Thai's in the streets in the day (unless they have to be there). For most visitors, a good air conditioning unit is a must and for comfortable sleeping, it becomes a 'must have' item. At night, the temperatures drop to the mid 20's, although often a little higher.
Thankfully, nearly all hotels offer air conditioning, so if you are staying in a hotel, you should not have a problem. For us that have a house with an Aircon installed, it really can drive up the electricity bill.
The rest of the year is still hot in the day, but in December, Udon Thani does experience a drop in temperatures for a few days. This however is not unique in Thailand, as the Chiang Mai region, and surrounding mountains also see cooler days in December.
In Udon Thani, it is normal to have perhaps 3 or 4 nights where the temperature dips to anywhere between 15 - 20 degrees C, which does actually feel cold if you are here all year round. As I write this though, we are currently going through the longest 'cold' spell for 30 years or more (so I am led to believe). We have had nearly 4 weeks of nights below 20 degrees, of which 2 of those weeks have dropped between 9 - 13 degrees. This is great news as it allows a really comfortable nights sleep with the aircon or even a standard fan!
In the day time, temperatures rise to a more comfortable 25 - 27 degrees, still a bit too hot to do much in the way of physical work, but it is much better than normal to be out and about in the city or elsewhere.
If you visit Udon Thani in December, it is advisable to bring at least 1 jumper and/or jacket, in case you do actually need it. For the first time ion my 3 1/2 years here, I am wearing a jumper and socks most nights in the house, something I never really believed I would have to do in Thailand.
Udon Thani Rainy Season
The rainy season or wet monsoon, in Udon Thani is the same as all of Thailand - July to November, although in recent years, the rainfall appears to be less frequent, and certainly not every day like some people imagine. When the monsoon rains fall, they normally only last for 1 - 2 hours, and most places drain dry quite quickly once it stops, unless the local drainage is poor. There are places in and around the city that suffer from flooding but these are generally located at the bottom of a road, where planning was not at the forefront of peoples minds when building. A lot of work has been done in the last few years to install storm drains in the major roads in the city, which will hopefully keep that part of the city free from future floods.