Thailand’s wet season - the annual monsoon explained

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Unlike much of the rest of the world, with the four reliable seasons of winter, spring, summer and autumn…

Thailand has just three seasons…. hot, not-quite-so-hot, and wet.
The wet season coincides with an annual tropical monsoon,
that forms the overwhelming feature of Thailand’s weather in the late spring, summer and autumn.

The rainy season is caused by the southwest monsoon
that sweeps out of the Indian Ocean with moist air heading in a north-easterly direction across Thailand,
sucked into the void left by rising warm air over the summer Asian continent.

The timing of the season isn’t the same around the country
and isn’t the same every year although it is reasonably reliable.
For example, Chiang Mai doesn’t have the same rainy season as the Gulf of Thailand islands.

And Koh Samui’s wet season is month’s after the islands on the other side of the Malay Peninsula.
The annual celebration of Songkran, the Thai New Year on April 13,
is usually timed to match both the end of the hot season and the start of the annual wet season.

But in most provinces the start of the monsoon is usually a month or so later.

Some places can be much wetter than others.

Ranong, in the south of Thailand, just north of Phuket facing the Andaman Sea,
is the wettest province in the country with a rainy season stretching from April to November.

But the seaside resort of Hua Hin on the Gulf of Thailand only really has two particularly rainy months, September and October.

The strength and intensity of the rains vary greatly.

But, generally, monsoon rains tend to be short, intense bursts of rainfall.

They could last for a few hours in the middle of the day,
but they could just as easily be over within about 15 minutes in the morning or evening.

The monsoons do little to stop the locals who are used to just plugging-on,
despite the deluges and occasional floods.

Help is never too far away with the 20 baht ‘poncho’ available at every 7 Eleven and Food Mart.

Flimsy and available in a variety of unfashionable colours,
they’ll keep at least some of your body dry if you’re caught out in a downpour.
It floods very easily in Thailand, such is the intensity and suddenness of the monsoonal rains.
Bangkokians will just roll up their trousers, or hold onto their skirts,
take their shoes off and wade through the floodwater.
It’s just part of life when living in Thailand.
Every year millions of baht are spent to improve drainage and prevent flooding,
but nothing seems to make the situation any better.
The best thing about Thailand’s wet season is that the rains are never icy cold
and usually provide a pleasant respite from the heat.
Bangkok and Central provinces
The Thai capital generally has a rainy season from late June or early July,
peaking in September and starting to dry out in October.
It won’t necessarily rain every day and very rarely all day.
But sometimes it’s torrential.
Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand
Chiang Mai is the north capital, mostly flat and surrounded by hills,
and attracts plenty of tourists and travellers year-round.
The monsoon season lasts longer in the North, compared to Bangkok.
It usually starts around May and continues until November.
July and August are particularly wet.
North East Thailand
The Northeast provinces are further away from the Indian Ocean,
so the monsoon has lost some of its power by the time it reaches the region.
The wet season would stretch from May to October
but 80% of the rain usually falls in August and September.
The region’s north and eastern borders are the mighty Mekong River
which relies on a decent annual fall of rains.
In recent years the Mekong has recorded lower levels
due to the changes in wet season rains
and damming upstream in Laos and China.
East Thailand
Koh Chang and the other islands off the coast of Trat province,
are beautiful and mostly unspoiled by mass tourism,
but can be very wet during the monsoon there,
which usually runs from late May to the end of October.
But the islands will be much quieter and prices lower during the wet season.
Phuket, Krabi and the Andaman Coast
Glorious beaches, tropical living and beautiful islands.
It will usually start raining from mid April to October and November.
September and October are the wettest.
And when it rains, it pours.
The strong south westerly winds usually make the
west-facing beaches unsafe for swimming for the duration of the monsoon.
Many tourists drown off these coastlines every year.
Koh Samui and the Gulf Islands

Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand
are a triad of popular islands off the coast of Surat Thani,
and have their own annual season weather patterns.