Seasonal Climate Outlook North Qld May 2026 report

Now available: Seasonal climate outlook for North Queensland (May report)

The Seasonal Climate Outlook for Tropical North Queensland (May 2026) is now available – provided by the Tropical North Queensland Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub.

What insights does it offer?

This resource offers insights to support growers, advisors, and industry stakeholders with seasonal planning and risk management.

Prepared by Prof Roger Stone and Dr Christa Pudmenzky, the outlook reviews a range of established and emerging climate forecasting systems and highlights several key climate signals, including:

• Above-normal rainfall probabilities are forecast early in the May to July period in the Mareeba region.
• The Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) is currently in a rapidly falling phase, while the next Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) event may increase the likelihood of rainfall across Tropical North Queensland during mid to late May.
• While some rainfall activity is still possible in the near term, longer-range forecasting models continue to indicate the potential development of El Niño conditions later in the year, which may increase the likelihood of drier conditions as winter progresses.

Access the report

Growers and industry partners can review the full report here and consider how seasonal climate signals may inform planning for the months ahead.

Find out more
🔗Find more information on the TNQ Drought Hub
📩Subscribe to the TNQ Hub Newsletter

This article appears as part of the 22 May 2026 issue of Guacamole, our e-Newsletter.