Three distinct seasons are experienced in the Tiger reserve. The winter starts from November and lasts till middle of February followed by summer which continues up to middle of June. This is followed by rainy season spanning till September. The bulk of precipitation occurs during June to September through the south-west monsoon. Normally the monsoon breaks in the third week of June and continues up to middle or end of September. Pre-monsoon showers are experienced in first or second week of June, but not common. Thunder storm usually occurs during April and May. The average number of rainy days in a year is 100 out of which, 70 are confined between June to September. The annual average rainfall varies from 1250 mm to 1700 mm.

High floods are not uncommon. Floods occurred in river Mahanadi during 1934 and 1940 when water level rose up to Hatibari village, 5 kms from Tikarpara ghat and it caused tremendous loss of cultivation in under low lying areas. Thereafter the floods occurred during 1955, 1982, 1986, 2003 and 2008. Artificial floods are experienced when Hirakud Dam opens their Sluice gates to discharge excess water during the rainy season. The advent of summer is usually experienced from March when temperature starts rising. Summer months are very hot. Maximum day temperature varies from 45°C to 47°C in month of May and June. It went to a maximum of 490C during May 2005. With the onset of the monsoon, temperature drops appreciably. When monsoon withdraws in the month of October, the winter sets in . Gradually both day and night temperatures fall. The coolest month is December when temperature during the night varies between 6°C to 11°C. The humidity is generally high in the Tiger Reserve. It generally howeres 80 % in August, September, and October, while in other months the humidity is around 75 %.