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Cairns vs Crested Butte
Comparing Cairns change · Crested Butte change
Cairns is the warmer of the two — about 24°C on the annual average; Cairns is the wetter, with 1371 mm more rain a year.
How the seasons compare
The differences between Cairns and Crested Butte, in everyday terms.
Summers
Cairns has much hotter summers
Cairns: Hot
Crested Butte: Mild
Winters
Cairns has far milder winters
Cairns: Stays warm
Crested Butte: Bitterly cold
Rain & snow
Cairns is much wetter
Cairns: Very wet
Crested Butte: Moderate rainfall
Sky
Similar amounts of sun
Cairns: Partly cloudy
Crested Butte: Partly cloudy
Month-by-month charts
Temperature
Cairns is the warmer of the two — about 24°C on the annual average.
Precipitation
Cairns is the wetter — about 1371 mm more across the year.
Clear skies
The two cities see a similar amount of sun.
Exact monthly numbers
Tap a metric to open its full table. Desktop shows all twelve months; on a phone each metric splits into Jan–Jun and Jul–Dec.
Avg high (°C) Cairns runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 32 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
| Crested Butte | -3 | -1 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 21 | 25 | 23 | 19 | 13 | 4 | -3 |
| Difference | -35 | -33 | -27 | -22 | -14 | -5 | -2 | -4 | -10 | -18 | -27 | -35 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 32 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 28 | 27 |
| Crested Butte | -3 | -1 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 21 |
| Difference | -35 | -33 | -27 | -22 | -14 | -5 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 26 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
| Crested Butte | 25 | 23 | 19 | 13 | 4 | -3 |
| Difference | -2 | -4 | -10 | -18 | -27 | -35 |
Avg low (°C) Cairns runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 24 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 23 |
| Crested Butte | -21 | -19 | -14 | -7 | -2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | -0 | -6 | -13 | -20 |
| Difference | -45 | -43 | -37 | -29 | -22 | -17 | -12 | -13 | -19 | -26 | -35 | -43 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 24 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 18 |
| Crested Butte | -21 | -19 | -14 | -7 | -2 | 1 |
| Difference | -45 | -43 | -37 | -29 | -22 | -17 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 17 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 23 |
| Crested Butte | 4 | 4 | -0 | -6 | -13 | -20 |
| Difference | -12 | -13 | -19 | -26 | -35 | -43 |
Precipitation (mm) Cairns runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 414 | 444 | 370 | 174 | 87 | 45 | 42 | 27 | 28 | 65 | 85 | 191 |
| Crested Butte | 69 | 65 | 54 | 51 | 38 | 24 | 50 | 50 | 49 | 43 | 51 | 57 |
| Difference | -345 | -379 | -317 | -123 | -48 | -21 | +8 | +23 | +21 | -22 | -34 | -134 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 414 | 444 | 370 | 174 | 87 | 45 |
| Crested Butte | 69 | 65 | 54 | 51 | 38 | 24 |
| Difference | -345 | -379 | -317 | -123 | -48 | -21 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 42 | 27 | 28 | 65 | 85 | 191 |
| Crested Butte | 50 | 50 | 49 | 43 | 51 | 57 |
| Difference | +8 | +23 | +21 | -22 | -34 | -134 |
Snowfall (cm)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Crested Butte | 106 | 90 | 69 | 46 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 66 | 88 |
| Difference | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Crested Butte | 106 | 90 | 69 | 46 | 17 | 1 |
| Difference | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Crested Butte | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 66 | 88 |
| Difference | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Cloud cover (%) Varies through the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 71 | 71 | 68 | 57 | 52 | 48 | 45 | 41 | 35 | 38 | 47 | 58 |
| Crested Butte | 54 | 60 | 60 | 63 | 61 | 46 | 57 | 58 | 46 | 44 | 49 | 54 |
| Difference | -17 | -11 | -8 | +6 | +9 | -2 | +12 | +17 | +10 | +5 | +1 | -4 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 71 | 71 | 68 | 57 | 52 | 48 |
| Crested Butte | 54 | 60 | 60 | 63 | 61 | 46 |
| Difference | -17 | -11 | -8 | +6 | +9 | -2 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 45 | 41 | 35 | 38 | 47 | 58 |
| Crested Butte | 57 | 58 | 46 | 44 | 49 | 54 |
| Difference | +12 | +17 | +10 | +5 | +1 | -4 |
Relative humidity (%) Varies through the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 85 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 84 | 82 | 78 | 75 | 73 | 75 | 78 |
| Crested Butte | 91 | 94 | 89 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 56 | 59 | 57 | 63 | 77 | 89 |
| Difference | +6 | +6 | +1 | -11 | -22 | -33 | -26 | -19 | -18 | -11 | +2 | +10 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 85 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 84 |
| Crested Butte | 91 | 94 | 89 | 76 | 64 | 52 |
| Difference | +6 | +6 | +1 | -11 | -22 | -33 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 82 | 78 | 75 | 73 | 75 | 78 |
| Crested Butte | 56 | 59 | 57 | 63 | 77 | 89 |
| Difference | -26 | -19 | -18 | -11 | +2 | +10 |
How both climates are changing
Both cities are warming. Each city has its own warming trend; see its trends page for the year-by-year detail. Cairns trends → · Crested Butte trends →
Methodology & sources
Cairns
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 19 years of daily observations at Cairns Post Office, a weather station, about 2 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.
Crested Butte
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 30 years of daily observations at Crested Butte, a weather station, about 1 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.
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