Typhoon Season by Destination
How often a tropical storm or typhoon came within 100 miles of your destination, month by month, in the last 50 seasons: pick a place, and your trip dates if you have them.
Typhoon season · last 50 seasons
Tokyo: typhoon season peaks in August and SeptemberA tropical storm or typhoon came within 100 miles in 14 of the last 50 Augusts (1975–2024); none from November to May.
Bars: seasons of 50 with a tropical storm or stronger within 100 miles; the dark part, a typhoon.
Tracks: NOAA NCEI IBTrACS; intensity: the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Typhoons came closest to Tokyo in August and September, to Okinawa and Taipei in August, to Hong Kong in July and August, to Da Nang in September, to Manila and Guam in October, and to Boracay in December, over the last 50 seasons. Pick your destination for its months and your dates.
How to use it
Pick where you are going: 29 places in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, the Philippines, Vietnam, Guam and Saipan. The answer is the month the storms came closest most often, and the months when none ever did. Pick a month to see its count, the latest storms by name and the calmest places that month; add the day your trip starts and how many days it lasts to see those exact dates, and the calmest dates within four weeks either way.
How it is counted
For each of the last 50 seasons (1975 to 2024), the tool asks one question: did the centre of a tropical storm or a typhoon pass within 100 miles of the place? The tracks are NOAA’s IBTrACS best tracks for the western North Pacific, followed hour by hour between their three-hourly points. How strong each storm was is the Japan Meteorological Agency’s record, the basin’s official agency: its grades from tropical storm to typhoon count, and depressions and storms that had turned extratropical do not. A season counts once in a month however many storms came. It is the rule of the Hurricane Risk calculator, so a typhoon here and a hurricane there are counted alike. 2025 is not in yet: IBTrACS still marks it provisional.
| Place | Peak | Seasons with a storm in the peak month | Of them, a typhoon | No storm in any season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | August and September | 14 of 50 | 6 | November to May |
| Osaka | September | 19 of 50 | 9 | December to May |
| Kyoto | September | 18 of 50 | 8 | December to May |
| Hiroshima | September | 20 of 50 | 7 | November to April |
| Fukuoka | August and September | 19 of 50 | 12 | November to May |
| Nagasaki | August and September | 18 of 50 | 13 | November to May |
| Okinawa (Naha) | August | 24 of 50 | 15 | December to April |
| Ishigaki | August | 28 of 50 | 13 | December to March |
| Sapporo | September | 8 of 50 | 1 | November to July |
| Seoul | August | 9 of 50 | 1 | October to June |
| Busan | August | 18 of 50 | 6 | November to May |
| Jeju | August | 19 of 50 | 10 | November to May |
| Taipei | August | 25 of 50 | 13 | December to April |
| Kaohsiung | July | 20 of 50 | 12 | January to April |
| Hong Kong | July and August | 16 of 50 | 4 | December to March |
| Macau | July | 17 of 50 | 4 | December to March |
| Shanghai | August and September | 10 of 50 | 2 | June and November to April |
| Manila | October | 15 of 50 | 8 | February to April |
| Boracay | December | 16 of 50 | 8 | none |
| Cebu | November and December | 9 of 50 | 5 | May and July and August |
| El Nido (Palawan) | November and December | 10 of 50 | 2 | February and June |
| Siargao | November and December | 9 of 50 | 4 | July and August |
| Hanoi | July | 14 of 50 | 1 | December to May |
| Da Nang | September | 18 of 50 | 6 | December to April |
| Hoi An | September | 16 of 50 | 5 | December to April |
| Nha Trang | November | 18 of 50 | 2 | January to May and July and August |
| Ho Chi Minh City | rarely any | 2 of 50 | 0 | January to March and May to September |
| Guam | October | 14 of 50 | 4 | February and June |
| Saipan | October | 16 of 50 | 6 | February |
Worked examples
Okinawa for a week from August 10. A tropical storm or typhoon came within 100 miles on those dates in 5 of 50 seasons. The calmest week within four weeks is Jul 13–19, 3 of 50.
Tokyo in September. 14 of 50 seasons, 8 of them a typhoon; the latest were Faxai 2019, Trami 2018, Man-yi 2013, Jelawat 2012.
Boracay at Christmas. The Philippines’ central islands have their season late: December had a storm within 100 miles in 16 of 50 seasons, when Japan’s is long over.
Common mistakes
- Reading it as a forecast. It counts the past 50 seasons. When you travel, follow the Japan Meteorological Agency, PAGASA, the Hong Kong Observatory or your destination’s own weather service.
- One season for the whole region. Japan’s peaks in August and September; the central Philippines’ in November and December.
- Thinking 100 miles is the only reach. A typhoon farther away still brings rain, rough seas and cancelled ferries and flights.
- Counting a clear month as safe for ever. “No storm in any season” means none in these 50, not that one cannot come.
Plan the trip
Read the Japan travel guide for first-timers and pack with the Japan packing list; for the islands, the iconic beaches of the Philippines and things to do in Palawan; then Vietnam from north to south and why people go to Guam. For the weather of each month, see When to Go.
FAQ
When is typhoon season in Japan?
Storms come closest in August and September in Tokyo and in August in Okinawa; in the 50 seasons none came within 100 miles of Tokyo from November to May.
When is typhoon season in the Philippines?
It depends on the island: Manila’s peak is October, Boracay’s December, Cebu’s November and December.
When is typhoon season in Okinawa?
The peak is August: 24 of 50 seasons had a storm within 100 miles in August.
When is typhoon season in Taiwan?
In Taipei the peak is August; in Kaohsiung, in the south, July.
When is typhoon season in Hong Kong?
July and August are the peak; Macau’s is July.
When is typhoon season in Vietnam?
Hanoi’s peak is July, Da Nang and Hoi An’s September, Nha Trang’s November; Ho Chi Minh City rarely has one come this close.
When is typhoon season in Guam?
The peak is October, and storms came within 100 miles in every month but February and June in the 50 seasons.