{
  "destination": "french-polynesia",
  "name": "French Polynesia",
  "hazard": "wet-season",
  "has_page": true,
  "question": "When is the rainy season in Tahiti and French Polynesia?",
  "answer": "French Polynesia's warm, wetter season runs November to April and its cooler, drier season May to October (Météo-France), and in the Society Islands the rainy season's wettest months are December and January; at Raiatea our NASA POWER calculation gives about 210 mm in December against 48 mm in August. For 2026–27, Météo-France's outlook of 26 October 2026 says El Niño has reached the \"very strong\" stage and lists the Society Islands among the areas with a high risk of at least one named tropical system between November 2026 and April 2027.",
  "answer_markdown": "French Polynesia's warm, wetter season runs November to April and its cooler, drier season May to October (Météo-France), and in the Society Islands the rainy season's wettest months are December and January; at Raiatea our NASA POWER calculation gives about 210 mm in December against 48 mm in August. For 2026–27, Météo-France's outlook of 26 October 2026 says El Niño has reached the \"very strong\" stage and lists the Society Islands among the areas with a high risk of at least one named tropical system between November 2026 and April 2027.",
  "checked": "2026-10-29",
  "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/weather-risk/french-polynesia/",
  "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/weather-risk/french-polynesia.json",
  "best_time_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/best-time/french-polynesia/",
  "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=french-polynesia&pos=api",
  "calendar": [
    {
      "month": 1,
      "name": "January",
      "codes": [
        "wet"
      ],
      "notes": []
    },
    {
      "month": 2,
      "name": "February",
      "codes": [
        "wet"
      ],
      "notes": []
    },
    {
      "month": 3,
      "name": "March",
      "codes": [
        "wet"
      ],
      "notes": []
    },
    {
      "month": 4,
      "name": "April",
      "codes": [
        "wet"
      ],
      "notes": []
    },
    {
      "month": 5,
      "name": "May",
      "codes": [],
      "notes": []
    },
    {
      "month": 6,
      "name": "June",
      "codes": [],
      "notes": []
    },
    {
      "month": 7,
      "name": "July",
      "codes": [],
      "notes": []
    },
    {
      "month": 8,
      "name": "August",
      "codes": [],
      "notes": []
    },
    {
      "month": 9,
      "name": "September",
      "codes": [],
      "notes": []
    },
    {
      "month": 10,
      "name": "October",
      "codes": [],
      "notes": []
    },
    {
      "month": 11,
      "name": "November",
      "codes": [
        "wet"
      ],
      "notes": []
    },
    {
      "month": 12,
      "name": "December",
      "codes": [
        "wet"
      ],
      "notes": []
    }
  ],
  "storms": null,
  "wind": [
    {
      "point": "french-polynesia",
      "place": "Raiatea",
      "lat": -16.73,
      "lon": -151.44,
      "elev_m": 4.41,
      "years": 10,
      "months": [
        {
          "month": 1,
          "name": "January",
          "force5_days": 5.7,
          "force6_days": 0.9,
          "force6_days_total": 9,
          "force6_direction_counts_45deg_from_0": [
            1,
            1,
            1,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            6
          ],
          "force6_share_north_east": 0.2222222222222222,
          "force6_share_south_east": 0.1111111111111111,
          "force6_share_northerly": 0.7777777777777778,
          "mean_wind_kn": 10.8,
          "rain_mm": 188
        },
        {
          "month": 2,
          "name": "February",
          "force5_days": 5.3,
          "force6_days": 1.5,
          "force6_days_total": 15,
          "force6_direction_counts_45deg_from_0": [
            3,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            4,
            8
          ],
          "force6_share_north_east": 0.2,
          "force6_share_south_east": 0,
          "force6_share_northerly": 0.7333333333333333,
          "mean_wind_kn": 10.6,
          "rain_mm": 163
        },
        {
          "month": 3,
          "name": "March",
          "force5_days": 1.8,
          "force6_days": 0.3,
          "force6_days_total": 3,
          "force6_direction_counts_45deg_from_0": [
            2,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            1
          ],
          "force6_share_north_east": 0.6666666666666666,
          "force6_share_south_east": 0,
          "force6_share_northerly": 1,
          "mean_wind_kn": 8.8,
          "rain_mm": 106
        },
        {
          "month": 4,
          "name": "April",
          "force5_days": 3.6,
          "force6_days": 0,
          "force6_days_total": 0,
          "force6_direction_counts_45deg_from_0": [
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0
          ],
          "force6_share_north_east": null,
          "force6_share_south_east": null,
          "force6_share_northerly": null,
          "mean_wind_kn": 9.4,
          "rain_mm": 117
        },
        {
          "month": 5,
          "name": "May",
          "force5_days": 4.4,
          "force6_days": 0.2,
          "force6_days_total": 2,
          "force6_direction_counts_45deg_from_0": [
            0,
            0,
            2,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0
          ],
          "force6_share_north_east": 0,
          "force6_share_south_east": 1,
          "force6_share_northerly": 0,
          "mean_wind_kn": 10.4,
          "rain_mm": 79
        },
        {
          "month": 6,
          "name": "June",
          "force5_days": 7.3,
          "force6_days": 0.3,
          "force6_days_total": 3,
          "force6_direction_counts_45deg_from_0": [
            0,
            0,
            3,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0
          ],
          "force6_share_north_east": 0,
          "force6_share_south_east": 1,
          "force6_share_northerly": 0,
          "mean_wind_kn": 11.4,
          "rain_mm": 83
        },
        {
          "month": 7,
          "name": "July",
          "force5_days": 8.6,
          "force6_days": 0.6,
          "force6_days_total": 6,
          "force6_direction_counts_45deg_from_0": [
            0,
            0,
            6,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0
          ],
          "force6_share_north_east": 0,
          "force6_share_south_east": 1,
          "force6_share_northerly": 0,
          "mean_wind_kn": 11.9,
          "rain_mm": 50
        },
        {
          "month": 8,
          "name": "August",
          "force5_days": 7.2,
          "force6_days": 0.8,
          "force6_days_total": 8,
          "force6_direction_counts_45deg_from_0": [
            0,
            1,
            5,
            2,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0
          ],
          "force6_share_north_east": 0.125,
          "force6_share_south_east": 0.875,
          "force6_share_northerly": 0,
          "mean_wind_kn": 11.7,
          "rain_mm": 48
        },
        {
          "month": 9,
          "name": "September",
          "force5_days": 7.5,
          "force6_days": 0.6,
          "force6_days_total": 6,
          "force6_direction_counts_45deg_from_0": [
            0,
            0,
            4,
            2,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            0
          ],
          "force6_share_north_east": 0,
          "force6_share_south_east": 1,
          "force6_share_northerly": 0,
          "mean_wind_kn": 11.7,
          "rain_mm": 48
        },
        {
          "month": 10,
          "name": "October",
          "force5_days": 7.1,
          "force6_days": 0.4,
          "force6_days_total": 4,
          "force6_direction_counts_45deg_from_0": [
            0,
            0,
            1,
            1,
            0,
            0,
            1,
            1
          ],
          "force6_share_north_east": 0,
          "force6_share_south_east": 0.5,
          "force6_share_northerly": 0.25,
          "mean_wind_kn": 11,
          "rain_mm": 84
        },
        {
          "month": 11,
          "name": "November",
          "force5_days": 5,
          "force6_days": 0.6,
          "force6_days_total": 6,
          "force6_direction_counts_45deg_from_0": [
            1,
            0,
            2,
            1,
            0,
            0,
            1,
            1
          ],
          "force6_share_north_east": 0.16666666666666666,
          "force6_share_south_east": 0.5,
          "force6_share_northerly": 0.3333333333333333,
          "mean_wind_kn": 10.4,
          "rain_mm": 123
        },
        {
          "month": 12,
          "name": "December",
          "force5_days": 4.9,
          "force6_days": 0.9,
          "force6_days_total": 9,
          "force6_direction_counts_45deg_from_0": [
            2,
            4,
            2,
            0,
            0,
            0,
            1,
            0
          ],
          "force6_share_north_east": 0.6666666666666666,
          "force6_share_south_east": 0.2222222222222222,
          "force6_share_northerly": 0.2222222222222222,
          "mean_wind_kn": 10,
          "rain_mm": 210
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "season": [
    {
      "text": "Météo-France splits the year into \"de novembre à avril, une saison dite « chaude » ou été austral qui coïncide avec une humidité plus importante\" and \"de mai à octobre, une saison dite « fraîche » ou hiver austral qui coïncide avec une humidité moindre\". In English (our translation): November to April is a \"warm\" season, the austral summer, with higher humidity; May to October is a \"cool\" season, the austral winter, with lower humidity. The service adds that this split \"ne s'applique pas rigoureusement à toutes les îles\", that is, it does not apply strictly to every island (Météo-France Polynésie).",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "wr_pf_meteofrance_climat",
          "name": "Météo-France Polynésie",
          "title": "Climat de la Polynésie",
          "url": "https://www.meteo.pf/fr/climat",
          "checked": "2026-10-29",
          "note": "No page date. In French; translations on our pages are ours.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "For the Society Islands, \"la saison des pluies débute en novembre et s'achève en avril. Les mois de décembre et janvier sont les plus arrosés.\" In English (our translation): the rainy season begins in November and ends in April; December and January are the wettest months. Rain is heavy in the warm season and often becomes light in the cool season (Météo-France Polynésie).",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "wr_pf_meteofrance_climat",
          "name": "Météo-France Polynésie",
          "title": "Climat de la Polynésie",
          "url": "https://www.meteo.pf/fr/climat",
          "checked": "2026-10-29",
          "note": "No page date. In French; translations on our pages are ours.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "context": [
    {
      "text": "Outlook for November 2026 to April 2027, published 26 October 2026, in English (our translation): El Niño has reached the \"very strong\" stage on the RONI index (\"a désormais atteint le stade « très fort »\"); all 24 available models forecast it will stay very intense to the end of the 2026–2027 warm season; the 2026 El Niño \"could become the strongest ever observed\"; since 1970 only five episodes have been classed as very strong on the RONI index. The climate centres agree on a high risk of at least one named tropical system (\"au moins un phénomène tropical nommé\") in the Society Islands and the northern and central Tuamotu, and a lower risk in the Marquesas and the Gambier. The service expects more rain on islands north of the 15th parallel south and less on islands south of it. Raiatea is at about 16.7° S, which is south of that line. The page gives no number of cyclones and no months for the cyclone risk (Météo-France Polynésie).",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "wr_pf_outlook_2026",
          "name": "Météo-France Polynésie",
          "title": "Perspectives pour la saison chaude 2026-2027",
          "url": "https://www.meteo.pf/fr/communiques-meteorologique/perspectives-pour-la-saison-chaude-2026-2027",
          "checked": "2026-10-29",
          "note": "Published 26 October 2026. Seasonal outlook for November 2026–April 2027; replace after April 2027.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ],
      "valid_until": "2027-04-30"
    }
  ],
  "method": {
    "storms": "Storm passes: from NOAA's HURDAT2 best-track file (hurdat2-1851-2025-092326.txt) we take every tropical storm or hurricane (HURDAT2 status TS or HU) whose track starts in 1991–2020, NHC's 30-year climate period. We interpolate the track in a straight line every 60 minutes between fixes (not across gaps over 12 hours) and count a storm once, in the month it first came within 100 nm of our reference point. The 100 nm radius, the interpolation and the month rule are our choices. \"Storm-years\" are the years out of 30 with at least one pass in that month. Our calculation.",
    "wind": "Strong-wind days: from NASA POWER's daily WS10M_MAX (the highest hourly mean 10 m wind of the day in one grid cell), converted to knots (1 m/s = 3600/1852 kn), we count the days per month at or above 17 kn (Beaufort force 5, fresh breeze) and 22 kn (force 6, strong breeze), the lower limits on the Met Office scale, as a mean per month over 2016–2025. Direction shares use the day's mean wind direction (WD10M) in 45° bins. Our calculation.",
    "rain": "Rain: NASA POWER's monthly corrected precipitation (PRECTOTCORR, mm/day) times the days in each month, averaged over 2016–2025, whole millimetres. Our calculation, not a rain-gauge normal.",
    "calendar": "Calendar: a month is marked if any part of it falls in the source's window (our mapping). \"Mid-July\", \"the cold part of the year\" and similar are the source's words."
  },
  "caveats": [
    "Storm passes are historical frequencies for 1991–2020 within 100 nm of one reference point (our choice of radius); they are not a forecast, and a pass within 100 nm does not mean storm-force winds at the anchorage.",
    "Strong-wind days use NASA POWER's highest hourly mean wind of the day in a ½° × ⅝° grid cell (about 50 km across); real gusts and local winds (funnelling between islands, the bora at the foot of the mountains) are stronger than the cell shows.",
    "Some grid cells include land (elevation from NASA POWER: 4 m at Raiatea), so their winds are lower than at sea.",
    "Wind direction is the cell's daily mean direction; north-easterly days are our proxy for the bora and northerly days for the meltemi, not observed events.",
    "Rainfall is NASA POWER's corrected precipitation for the cell, not a rain-gauge normal from the national weather service.",
    "Official dates (\"mid-July\", \"the cold part of the year\") are quoted; our month mapping in the calendar is ours."
  ],
  "derived": "Storm passes, shares, strong-wind days, direction shares and rainfall are our calculation from NOAA HURDAT2 and NASA POWER.",
  "insurance_note": "Booking in a risk season? Read your charter contract's weather and hurricane clauses: what happens if a named storm or a port closure stops you sailing, and whether you get a refund, a credit or new dates. Some booking platforms and charter companies sell cancellation options or a \"weather guarantee\", and some travel insurance covers trip cancellation or cutting a trip short because of weather; check what triggers the cover. We have no insurance partner and do not recommend a product.",
  "not_verified": [
    "Official start and end dates of the cyclone season.",
    "Météo-France station normals for Raiatea."
  ],
  "status_legend": {
    "official": "Read in an official text: government, park authority, ministry or official tourism board.",
    "secondary": "From a newspaper, NGO, guide or tour operator; not official.",
    "not_verified": "We could not confirm it. We leave it open rather than guess."
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "wr_pf_meteofrance_climat",
      "name": "Météo-France Polynésie",
      "title": "Climat de la Polynésie",
      "url": "https://www.meteo.pf/fr/climat",
      "checked": "2026-10-29",
      "note": "No page date. In French; translations on our pages are ours.",
      "tier": "official"
    },
    {
      "id": "wr_pf_outlook_2026",
      "name": "Météo-France Polynésie",
      "title": "Perspectives pour la saison chaude 2026-2027",
      "url": "https://www.meteo.pf/fr/communiques-meteorologique/perspectives-pour-la-saison-chaude-2026-2027",
      "checked": "2026-10-29",
      "note": "Published 26 October 2026. Seasonal outlook for November 2026–April 2027; replace after April 2027.",
      "tier": "official"
    },
    {
      "id": "tahiti_tourisme",
      "name": "Tahiti Tourisme",
      "title": "Tahiti weather",
      "url": "https://tahititourisme.com/en-us/travel-planner/tahiti-weather/",
      "checked": "2026-10-27"
    },
    {
      "id": "wr_nasa_power_daily",
      "name": "NASA POWER",
      "title": "Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources: Daily API (WS10M_MAX, WD10M) and Monthly API (PRECTOTCORR)",
      "url": "https://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/daily/",
      "checked": "2026-10-29",
      "note": "Pulled with scripts/fetch-weather-daily.mjs for 2016–2025 at our 10 reference points and 2 route points. WS10M_MAX is the highest hourly mean of the day in a ½° × ⅝° grid cell, not a gust. Strong-wind day counts and rainfall means are our calculation.",
      "tier": "official"
    },
    {
      "id": "su_metoffice_beaufort",
      "name": "Met Office",
      "title": "Beaufort wind force scale",
      "url": "https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/guides/coast-and-sea/beaufort-scale",
      "checked": "2026-10-29",
      "note": "UK national weather service. No page date. Force 2 (light breeze) 4–6 kn; force 4 (moderate breeze) 11–16 kn. We use 6 and 16 kn as the anchors of our wind score. Force 5 (fresh breeze) 17–21 kn; force 6 (strong breeze) 22–27 kn. We use 17 and 22 kn as the thresholds of our strong-wind day counts.",
      "tier": "official"
    },
    {
      "id": "nasa_power_monthly",
      "name": "NASA POWER",
      "title": "Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources: Monthly API (T2M, WS10M)",
      "url": "https://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/monthly/",
      "checked": "2026-10-28",
      "note": "Monthly point data for 2016–2025 pulled on 28 Oct 2026 with scripts/fetch-weather.mjs (API v2.10.0, community RE, parameters T2M = temperature at 2 m in °C and WS10M = wind speed at 10 m in m/s; meteorological grid ½° × ⅝° per https://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/methodology/). One request per reference point, in the form https://power.larc.nasa.gov/api/temporal/monthly/point?parameters=T2M,WS10M&community=RE&longitude=<lon>&latitude=<lat>&start=2016&end=2025&format=JSON (coordinates in src/data/weather.ts). Route points for the Dubrovnik and Cyclades itineraries are in src/data/weather-routes.ts (scripts/fetch-route-weather.mjs, pulled 29 Oct 2026). Credit: https://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/referencing/ . The pages we opened did not state a licence; NASA data is described to us as free for any use. Palma (Mallorca) reference point for the Mallorca vs Ibiza comparison in src/data/weather-routes.ts (scripts/fetch-route-weather.mjs, pulled 29 Oct 2026)."
    }
  ],
  "attribution": "Cite \"Catamaran Index\" with a link to the canonical_url of the page the figure comes from, and name the original source listed with it.",
  "affiliate_note": "book_url links go through /go/samboat, an affiliate link: Catamaran Index may earn a commission on bookings, at no extra cost to the traveller. It never changes the data."
}