"Rainy season" redirects here. For the film, see Wet Season (film). For other uses, see Rainy Season (disambiguation).
Part of a series on
Weather
Temperate and polar seasons
Winter
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Tropical seasons
Dry season
Harmattan
Wet season
Storms
Cloud
Cumulonimbus cloud
Arcus cloud
Downburst
Microburst
Heat burst
Derecho
Lightning
Volcanic lightning
Thunderstorm
Air-mass thunderstorm
Thundersnow
Dry thunderstorm
Mesocyclone
Supercell
Tornado
Anticyclonic tornado
Landspout
Waterspout
Dust devil
Fire whirl
Anticyclone
Cyclone
Polar low
Extratropical cyclone
European windstorm
Nor'easter
Subtropical cyclone
Tropical cyclone
Atlantic hurricane
Typhoon
Storm surge
Dust storm
Simoom
Haboob
Monsoon
Amihan
Gale
Sirocco
Firestorm
Winter storm
Ice storm
Blizzard
Ground blizzard
Snow squall
Precipitation
Drizzle
Freezing
Graupel
Hail
Megacryometeor
Ice pellets
Diamond dust
Rain
Freezing
Cloudburst
Snow
Rain and snow mixed
Snow grains
Snow roller
Slush
Topics
Air pollution
Atmosphere
Chemistry
Convection
Physics
River
Climate
Cloud
Physics
Fog
Mist
Season
Cold wave
Heat wave
Jet stream
Meteorology
Severe weather
List
Extreme
Severe weather terminology
Canada
Japan
United States
Weather forecasting
Weather modification
Glossaries
Meteorology
Climate change
Tornado terms
Tropical cyclone terms
Weather portal
v
t
e
The rainfall distribution by month in Cairns, Australia
The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs.[1] Generally, the season lasts at least one month.[2] The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities.[3] Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the tropics and subtropics.[4]
Under the Köppen climate classification, for tropical climates, a wet season month is defined as a month where average precipitation is 60 millimetres (2.4 in) or more.[5] In contrast to areas with savanna climates and monsoon regimes, Mediterranean climates have wet winters and dry summers. Dry and rainy months are characteristic of tropical seasonal forests: in contrast to tropical rainforests, which do not have dry or wet seasons, since their rainfall is equally distributed throughout the year.[6] Some areas with pronounced rainy seasons will see a break in rainfall mid-season, when the intertropical convergence zone or monsoon trough moves to higher latitudes in the middle of the warm season.[7]
When the wet season occurs during a warm season, or summer, precipitation falls mainly during the late afternoon and early evening. In the wet season, air quality improves, fresh water quality improves, and vegetation grows substantially, leading to crop yields late in the season. Rivers overflow their banks, and some animals retreat to higher ground. Soil nutrients diminish and erosion increases. The incidence of malaria and dengue increases in areas where the rainy season coincides with high temperatures, particularly in tropical areas.[8] Some animals have adaptation and survival strategies for the wet season. Often, the previous dry season leads to food shortages in the wet season, as the crops have yet to mature. Crops which can be successfully planted during the wet or rainy season are cassava, maize, groundnut, millet, rice and yam.[9]
The temperate counterpart to the tropical wet season is spring or autumn.
^"When is rainy season?". Met Office. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
^Glossary of Meteorology (2013). Rainy season. Archived 2009-02-15 at the Wayback Machine American Meteorological Society. Retrieved on 2008-12-27.
^Costa Rica Guide (2005). When to Travel to Costa Rica. Archived 2012-03-15 at the Wayback Machine ToucanGuides. Retrieved on 2008-12-27.
^Michael Pidwirny (2008). CHAPTER 9: Introduction to the Biosphere. PhysicalGeography.net. Retrieved on 2008-12-27.
^"Updated world Köppen-Geiger climate classification map" (PDF).
^Elisabeth M. Benders-Hyde (2003). World Climates. Blue Planet Biomes. Retrieved on 2008-12-27.
^J. S. 0guntoyinbo and F. 0. Akintola (1983). Rainstorm characteristics affecting water availability for agriculture. Archived 2009-02-05 at the Wayback Machine IAHS Publication Number 140. Retrieved on 2008-12-27.
^"Malaria Fact Sheet". The World Health Organization. April 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
^"6 Types Of Crops To Plant During Rainy Season". agricfy.com. 2021-07-28. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
The wetseason (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally...
dry season. A lengthy dry season and a relatively short wetseason. This version features seven or more dry season months and five or fewer wetseason months...
these latitudes, there is one wetseason and one dry season annually. At the equator there are two wet and two dry seasons, as the rain belt passes over...
regions have two seasons: the rainy/wet/monsoon season and the dry season. Some have a third cool, mild, or harmattan season. "Seasons" can also be dictated...
the rest of Earth and are generally hotter and wetter as they aren't affected as much by the solar seasons. The word "tropical" sometimes refers to this...
warm season. When the wetseason occurs during the warm season, or summer, rain falls mainly during the late afternoon and early evening hours. The wet season...
dry seasons. It could be either a lengthy dry season and a relatively short wetseason; or a lengthy wetseason and a relatively short dry season. The...
with rainy weather. The wetseason is the main period of vegetation growth within the savanna climate regime. Where the wetseason is associated with a seasonal...
degrees. There are normally only two seasons in tropical climates, a wet (rainy/monsoon) season and a dry season. The annual temperature range in tropical...
more active during the wetseason, when it spends more time near or on the ground. It is less observed during the dry season, during which it seeks shade...
warm season. When the wetseason occurs during the warm season, or summer, rain falls mainly during the late afternoon and early evening hours. The wet season...
humidity and plenty of rainfall. There are two seasons in the country: the wetseason and the dry season, based upon the amount of rainfall. This is also...
areas. There are two basic seasons in the Tampa Bay area, a hot and wetseason from May through October, and a mild and dry season from November through April...
range of weather patterns, from frequent flooding in the wetseason to drought in the dry season. Throughout the 20th century, the Everglades suffered significant...
grey. Wet-season form in Kolkata, West Bengal, India Wet-season form in Hyderabad, India Wet-season form mating in Hyderabad, India Wet-season form in...
8 °C at Twee Rivieren Rest Camp in 2012). The dry season lasts eight months or more, and the wetseason typically from less than one month to four months...
every month of the year and a dry season.: 200–1 The tropical monsoon climate is the intermediate climate between the wet AF (or tropical rainforest climate)...
about 15% of the wetseason flow at Kratie. This rises to 40% during the dry season, even this far downstream. During the wetseason, the proportion of...
specimens in Japan Underside, wet-season form Underside, dry-season form Upperside, wet-season form Upperside, dry-season form Bangladesh, Bhutan, China...
One WetSeason is a 1949 book by Ion Idriess about life in the Kimberley region of Western Australia during the wetseason of 1934. The book records true...
downbursts are associated with thunderstorms that exhibit very little rain, while wet downbursts are created by thunderstorms with significant amounts of precipitation...
Antennae, head, thorax, and abdomen as in the wet-season specimens. Female similar to the female of the wet-season brood, but more like the male, with the light...
the patterns on the underside of the wings; the dry-season form has few markings, while the wet-season form has additional eyespots and lines. It is listed...
usually found on the western side of continents, with a wetseason in winter and a dry season in the summer. Regions with this type of climate include...
Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male. Differ only from the wet-season brood in the slightly more falcate apex to forewing, and in the purer...
Global Information
Weather portal