Cairns is forecast to miss the heavy rain that has plagued the state further south but there will be showers pretty much all week.

Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Harry Clark said Townsville was likely to cop the last of the storm system making its way up the coast, with 90mm of rain forecast there for Wednesday.

The really bad weather is not expected to reach the Cairns area, Mr Clark told TropicNow.

There may be a few smaller storms around, probably inland, though Cairns could get one or two strikes this week.

“There is a slight chance of thunderstorms all the way through to Sunday.”

The rain this week will come and go, with 3-5mm Tuesday and 15-25mm expected on Wednesday. More of the wet stuff is expected on Thursday but it will “ramp down a little” from then till the end of the week.

Maximum temperatures will hover around 27-29C all week with a minimum of 22C.