Victoria Stone-Meadows

Get your barbecues and back yard cricket sets ready, the Douglas Shire is in for cracking weather over Christmas.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting temperatures in the high 20s to low 30s with a small chance of rain the region early next week.

There are five more sleeps until the jolly red man pays his annual visit so the BOM is warning forecasts at this stage are not set in stone. 

Christmas Day is predicted to reach a pleasant top temperature for Port Douglas of 28 degrees with Mossman tipped to reach a high of 30 degrees.

Both Mossman and Port Douglas are facing a 30 to 40 per cent chance of rain and, if the skies do open, there is expected to be between 15 and 40mm.

Boxing day is looking to be a little wetter than Christmas day with Port Douglas and Mossman both experiencing a 70 per cent chance of rain up to 70mm.

For those out watching the Boxing Day test, Port Douglas can expect a top of 28 degrees and Mossman a predicted top of 29 degrees. 

These forecast temperatures are expected to be much more pleasant than last year when the Low Isles Lighthouse recorded a top temperature of 32.8 degrees on Christmas Day and 32.3 on Boxing Day 2017.

Keep up to date on the latest weather developments on the BOM website as we draw closer to Christmas and be sure to check out Newsport's BeachCam for weather and beach information in Port Douglas.