The average rainforest is very moist, receiving over 80 inches (203 centimeters) annually. Some rainforests can even receive more rain than the average rainforest. For instance, the Colombian Choc' gets more than 360 inches (914 centimeters) of rain a year. Cloud forests usually do not get much rain, however they do get sufficient amounts of water through constant, misty clouds.

The average temperature in rainforests are fairly constant. This is because the rainforests are located near the tropics where the sun sets and rises at the same time all year long. The average temperature in the Amazon basin during the dry season may be 82.2° F (27.9° C), and change only a few degrees to 78.5° F (25.8° C) during the wet, cloudy season.

Some rainforests only have two seasons: a dry and a wet season. Tropical rainforest areas furthest from the equator can experience two wet and two dry seasons. Rainforests closer to the equator experience no seasons, where it mainly rains all year long.

Rainforests are very humid. During the day the humidity averages eighty percent, which keeps the rainforest warm. During the night the thickness of the humidity stays in the rainforest, keeping it warm, as well.

The higher a rainforest gets in altitude, the lower the temperatures get. There is a set rule that every 1,000 feet (300 meters) a rainforest goes up a mountain, the temperature drops about 3° F (1.7° C) cooler. In very rare instances, temperatures in mountainous rainforests can drop below freezing.