The Five Seasons of the Monsoonal Coastal Tropics

Abstract

In the northern coastal tropics of Queensland, the climate changes from one season to the next.The four temperate seasons are irrelevant.The original inhabitants of these latitudes had five seasons: Early, Middle and Late Wet and Early and Late Dry.

The Early Wet starts anytime between October and December. It is the build-up to the Wet. An inland heat trough forms over central Queensland that draws moist tropical air down from the north. The sweat starts to form beads on your skin instead of evaporating into the air. Thunderstorms erupt on the western side of the escarpment and march towards the east coast. At first they don't make it, collapsing over the mountains on the way. Then later when the trough moves closer to the coast, some of the storms burst through and lash the coastal plain. The recently burnt savannah erupts in a flush of green and steam settles over everything.The moist air boils under the burning sun. People go troppo.