Places to avoid in October

In October, 222 well-known destinations sit inside a hazard season: hurricane season in 64 (Puerto Escondido, Huatulco, San Andrés and 61 more), monsoon in 56 (Colombo, Cebu City, Khao Sok and 53 more), typhoon season in 26 (Hội An, Hue, Cebu City and 23 more) and smoke season in 20 (Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Lake Toba and 17 more). By the numbers, of 1,387 destinations, 127 feel like 35 °C or more in the afternoon, 372 have 18 or more rainy days, 19 have poor air and 4 sit well below freezing. 9 well-known places are at peak crowds and 1 is partly closed for the season.

Not a forecast: these are the seasons in which the risk exists, and the climate normals for the month. Most weeks pass quietly; the numbers say how often they do not.

Hazard seasons on in October

Curated, sourced windows — hurricane, typhoon and cyclone seasons, the monsoon, smoke, floods, smog. Well-known places first, the month's lowest scores at the top.

Hurricane season on

105 places

Statistically quiet most weeks, occasionally catastrophic.

  1. Puerto Escondido 🇲🇽 MexicoHurricane season, 15 May – 30 Nov — The eastern Pacific season opens in mid-May and runs to the end of November. · instead December59
  2. Huatulco 🇲🇽 MexicoHurricane season, 15 May – 30 Nov — The eastern Pacific season opens a fortnight before the Atlantic one. · instead February62
  3. San Andrés 🇨🇴 ColombiaHurricane season, 1 Jun – 30 Nov · instead March62
  4. Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesHurricane season, 1 Jun – 30 Nov · instead January63
  5. San Juan 🇵🇷 Puerto RicoHurricane season, 1 Jun – 30 Nov — Maria came ashore in September 2017 and the island still plans around that month. · instead January63
  6. Acapulco 🇲🇽 MexicoHurricane season, 15 May – 30 Nov — The official season runs from mid-May to the end of November, with September and October the active weeks. · instead April64

…and 99 more, 58 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own October verdict.

Monsoon on

71 places

The wet season proper — heavy, daily, and the reason prices fall.

  1. Colombo 🇱🇰 Sri LankaMonsoon, 1 Oct – 20 Nov (usually) · instead February47
  2. Cebu City 🇵🇭 PhilippinesMonsoon, 1 Jun – 15 Nov (usually) — Cebu sits behind the mountain spine and takes the southwest monsoon in afternoon bursts rather than all day. · instead February48
  3. Khao Sok 🇹🇭 ThailandMonsoon, 1 Oct – 30 Nov (usually) — Rain from both directions at once. · instead January49
  4. Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 MalaysiaMonsoon, 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually) · instead February49
  5. Bangkok 🇹🇭 ThailandMonsoon, 15 May – 15 Oct (usually) · instead December50
  6. Phnom Penh 🇰🇭 CambodiaMonsoon, 15 May – 31 Oct (usually) — Late-afternoon downpours that flood the low streets for an hour and then clear. · instead January50

…and 65 more, 50 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own October verdict.

Typhoon season on

44 places

A system a summer stops the trains for a day; it rarely ruins a week.

  1. Hội An 🇻🇳 VietnamTyphoon season, 1 Sep – 30 Nov (usually) — Central Vietnam takes the landfalls. · instead February45
  2. Hue 🇻🇳 VietnamTyphoon season, 1 Sep – 30 Nov (usually) · instead February45
  3. Cebu City 🇵🇭 PhilippinesTyphoon season, 1 Jun – 20 Dec (usually) — The central Visayas are in the track and the December storms have done the most damage here in recent memory. · instead February48
  4. Taipei 🇹🇼 TaiwanTyphoon season, 1 Jul – 15 Oct (usually) — A typhoon day is declared by the city and everything stops: offices, schools, the MRT above ground. · instead March54
  5. Manila 🇵🇭 PhilippinesTyphoon season, 1 Jun – 30 Nov (usually) · instead February55
  6. Da Nang 🇻🇳 VietnamTyphoon season, 1 Sep – 30 Nov (usually) — The central coast takes the storms that cross from the Philippines, usually one or two that matter. · instead March56

…and 38 more, 20 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own October verdict.

Smoke season on

33 places

Burning fields or forests; the air, not the weather, is the problem.

  1. Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 MalaysiaSmoke season, 1 Aug – 15 Oct (usually) · instead February49
  2. Singapore 🇸🇬 SingaporeSmoke season, 1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually) · instead February52
  3. Lake Toba 🇮🇩 IndonesiaSmoke season, 15 Jul – 15 Oct (usually) · instead July59
  4. Penang 🇲🇾 MalaysiaSmoke season, 1 Aug – 15 Oct (usually) · instead February61
  5. Langkawi 🇲🇾 MalaysiaSmoke season, 1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually) · instead February65
  6. Delhi 🇮🇳 IndiaSmoke season, 1 Oct – 31 Jan (usually) · instead February69

…and 27 more, 14 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own October verdict.

Flood season on

31 places

The river comes into the streets most years.

  1. Ho Chi Minh City 🇻🇳 VietnamFlood season, 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually) · instead February45
  2. Hội An 🇻🇳 VietnamFlood season, 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually) — The Thu Bon comes up into the lanes nearest the water most years, usually for one to three days at a time. · instead February45
  3. Hue 🇻🇳 VietnamFlood season, 25 Sep – 15 Dec (usually) · instead February45
  4. Bangkok 🇹🇭 ThailandFlood season, 15 Sep – 15 Nov (usually) · instead December50
  5. Manila 🇵🇭 PhilippinesFlood season, 1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually) · instead February55
  6. Franz Josef 🇳🇿 New ZealandFlood season, 1 Jan – 31 Dec · instead February67

…and 25 more, 14 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own October verdict.

Storm season on

12 places

Tornadoes, derechos, hail — the afternoons to watch the sky.

  1. Svolvær 🇳🇴 NorwayStorm season, 15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually) · instead July33
  2. Ålesund 🇳🇴 NorwayStorm season, 15 Oct – 28 Feb (usually) · instead July48
  3. Dingle 🇮🇪 IrelandStorm season, 15 Oct – 28 Feb (usually) — Named lows come in off the ocean from mid-autumn and the peninsula takes them first. · instead June54
  4. Tórshavn Faroe IslandsStorm season, 1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July62
  5. Johannesburg 🇿🇦 South AfricaStorm season, 15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually) — Storms build over the reef most summer afternoons: hail, lightning and intersections under water for an hour. · instead August86
  6. Pretoria 🇿🇦 South AfricaStorm season, 15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually) · instead August86

…and 6 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own October verdict.

Cyclone season on

11 places

The southern-hemisphere storm season.

  1. Chennai 🇮🇳 IndiaCyclone season, 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually) — A system or two a season comes close enough to shut the airport for a day and put the fishing fleet ashore. · instead February56
  2. Port Blair 🇮🇳 IndiaCyclone season, 15 Oct – 15 Dec (usually) · instead March64
  3. Havelock Island 🇮🇳 IndiaCyclone season, 15 Oct – 15 Dec (usually) — The early dive season overlaps the cyclone window. · instead March65
  4. Muscat 🇴🇲 OmanCyclone season, 15 May – 15 Nov (usually) — Two risk windows, before and after the Indian monsoon, and most years pass without one. · instead January66
  5. Pondicherry 🇮🇳 IndiaCyclone season, 15 Oct – 15 Dec (usually) · instead February71
  6. Chittagong 🇧🇩 BangladeshCyclone season, 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually) — The second window, peaking in November, and statistically the more active of the two across the Bay. · instead January53

…and 5 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own October verdict.

Extreme heat on

7 places

The weeks the city lives indoors.

  1. Kakadu 🇦🇺 AustraliaExtreme heat, 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually) · instead July37
  2. Etosha National Park 🇳🇦 NamibiaExtreme heat, 1 Oct – 10 Dec (usually) — October and November are the hard end of the dry season, when the heat builds until the rains break it. · instead June47
  3. Victoria Falls 🇿🇼 ZimbabweExtreme heat, 20 Sep – 10 Nov (usually) — The local name for the weeks before the rains break, when the valley bakes and the bush is grey. · instead June50
  4. Sossusvlei 🇳🇦 NamibiaExtreme heat, 1 Oct – 31 Dec (usually) · instead July68
  5. Phoenix 🇺🇸 United StatesExtreme heat, 1 May – 5 Oct (usually) — Five months over forty degrees with nights that no longer drop below thirty in July. · instead March74
  6. Darwin 🇦🇺 AustraliaExtreme heat, 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually) · instead July65

…and 1 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own October verdict.

Rip currents & big surf on

6 places

Red flags for weeks at a time; the calm-looking water is the one that pulls people out.

  1. Vík 🇮🇸 IcelandRip currents & big surf, 15 Sep – 30 Apr (usually) — The black beach kills people. · instead July34
  2. Krabi 🇹🇭 ThailandRip currents & big surf, 15 May – 15 Oct (usually) · instead February55
  3. Phuket 🇹🇭 ThailandRip currents & big surf, 15 May – 31 Oct (usually) · instead February55
  4. Khao Lak 🇹🇭 ThailandRip currents & big surf, 15 May – 31 Oct (usually) — Rip currents on this stretch of coast are the real risk, and the red flags go up for weeks at a time. · instead February56
  5. Destin 🇺🇸 United StatesRip currents & big surf, 1 Mar – 31 Oct · instead May89
  6. Palomino 🇨🇴 ColombiaRip currents & big surf, 1 Jan – 31 Dec · instead January59

Winter smog on

6 places

Coal smoke and a valley inversion; the air, not the cold, is the problem.

  1. Jakarta 🇮🇩 IndonesiaWinter smog, 15 Jun – 15 Oct (usually) · instead August61
  2. Varanasi 🇮🇳 IndiaWinter smog, 25 Oct – 10 Feb (usually) — Stubble burning upwind, firecrackers and a cold air trap put the plains under a brown haze from Diwali onward. · instead December65
  3. Turin 🇮🇹 ItalyWinter smog, 1 Oct – 31 Mar — The city sits in a bowl with the Alps on three sides, and winter inversions trap particulates for days. · instead September78
  4. Kaohsiung 🇹🇼 TaiwanWinter smog, 1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually) — The rain stops, the wind drops and the petrochemical belt on the north side has nowhere to go. · instead February60
  5. Taichung 🇹🇼 TaiwanWinter smog, 15 Oct – 31 Mar (usually) · instead December64
  6. Lahore 🇵🇰 PakistanWinter smog, 15 Oct – 31 Jan (usually) · instead November72

Algae & red tide on

6 places

Blooms that close beaches and clear the water of fish for a few weeks; not the Caribbean weed.

  1. Austin 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 15 May – 31 Oct (usually) — The city posts warnings for toxic cyanobacteria on Lady Bird Lake through the warm months. · instead March81
  2. Naples, Florida 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 1 Sep – 28 Feb (usually) — Blooms of Karenia brevis drift onto this coast most often between autumn and late winter. · instead April85
  3. Clearwater 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 1 Aug – 28 Feb (usually) · instead April86
  4. Pensacola 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 1 Aug – 15 Dec (usually) · instead May88
  5. Sarasota 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 1 Sep – 1 Mar (usually) · instead March88
  6. Tampa 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 1 Sep – 28 Feb (usually) · instead February70

Avalanche season on

4 places

Backcountry and passes on forecast; the weeks the road closes after a dump.

  1. Aoraki Mount Cook 🇳🇿 New ZealandAvalanche season, 1 Jun – 31 Oct (usually) — The regional advisory runs through winter and into spring. · instead February67
  2. Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesAvalanche season, 15 Oct – 15 Jun (usually) — From mid-autumn into early summer steep snow slopes above popular trails such as Emerald Lake can slide. · instead August75
  3. Te Anau 🇳🇿 New ZealandAvalanche season, 1 May – 30 Nov (usually) · instead January75
  4. Taupo 🇳🇿 New ZealandAvalanche season, 1 May – 31 Oct · instead January74

Landslide season on

3 places

The hill roads slip and shut for days; getting there, not being there, is the problem.

  1. Cameron Highlands 🇲🇾 MalaysiaLandslide season, 1 Oct – 20 Dec (usually) · instead February62
  2. Lake Atitlán 🇬🇹 GuatemalaLandslide season, 1 Jun – 31 Oct (usually) · instead January64
  3. Bucaramanga 🇨🇴 ColombiaLandslide season, 1 Oct – 30 Nov (usually) · instead February55

Extreme cold on

2 places

The weeks the city stops going outside — dzud, ice storms, minus thirty.

  1. Cradle Mountain 🇦🇺 AustraliaExtreme cold, 1 Jan – 31 Dec — Snow falls on this plateau in every month of the year and the summit track can be a whiteout in January. · instead January65
  2. Tongariro 🇳🇿 New ZealandExtreme cold, 1 May – 31 Oct (usually) — From May to October the Crossing is an alpine route: ice axe, crampons and the skills to use them, or a guide. · instead February73

Sargassum season on

1 place

The months the seaweed comes ashore on Caribbean and Gulf beaches.

  1. Virgin Gorda British Virgin IslandsSargassum season, 1 May – 31 Oct (usually) · instead March79

Out of range by the numbers

Every destination whose October normals cross a line the comfort score will not forgive: 18 or more rainy days, afternoons that feel like 35 °C, air in the poor band, or well below freezing. Worst first.

Too wet by the numbers

372 places

Eighteen or more rainy days, or a soaked month by volume — the real rainy season, not afternoon showers.

  1. Jacó 🇨🇷 Costa Rica31 rainy days, 829 mm · instead February53
  2. Boquete 🇵🇦 Panama31 rainy days, 552 mm · instead February57
  3. Nosara 🇨🇷 Costa Rica31 rainy days, 508 mm · instead February55
  4. Ollantaytambo 🇵🇪 Peru30 rainy days, 170 mm · instead July83
  5. La Fortuna 🇨🇷 Costa Rica30 rainy days, 366 mm · instead February51
  6. Bohol 🇵🇭 Philippines30 rainy days, 374 mm · instead April64
  7. Medellín 🇨🇴 Colombia30 rainy days, 309 mm · instead January63
  8. Aguas Calientes 🇵🇪 Peru30 rainy days, 186 mm · instead July79

…and 364 more, 159 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own October verdict.

Too hot by the numbers

127 places

Afternoons that feel like 35 °C or more, or heat the humidity turns sticky. A dry, sunny month cannot average this away.

  1. Kakadu 🇦🇺 Australia41°C afternoons · instead July37
  2. Mumbai 🇮🇳 India40°C afternoons · instead January58
  3. Ras Al Khaimah 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates40°C afternoons · instead November87
  4. Jeddah 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia39°C afternoons · instead January88
  5. Valladolid 🇲🇽 Mexico39°C afternoons · instead January65
  6. Abu Dhabi 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates38°C afternoons · instead January61
  7. Doha 🇶🇦 Qatar38°C afternoons · instead January56
  8. Dubai 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates38°C afternoons · instead January54

…and 119 more, 39 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own October verdict.

Too cold by the numbers

4 places

Afternoons that feel like −5 °C or below. Fine for a ski trip; not for walking a city.

  1. Gates of the Arctic National Park 🇺🇸 United States-13°C afternoons · instead July45
  2. Wrangell-St Elias National Park 🇺🇸 United States-9°C afternoons · instead July45
  3. Kobuk Valley National Park 🇺🇸 United States-6°C afternoons · instead June52
  4. Yakutsk 🇷🇺 Russia-6°C afternoons · instead June45

Bad air by the numbers

19 places

A monthly mean air-quality index in the poor or unhealthy bands.

  1. Riyadh 🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaAQI 192, unhealthy air · instead February69
  2. Beijing 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 155, unhealthy air · instead April80
  3. Agra 🇮🇳 IndiaAQI 136, poor air · instead February72
  4. Chengdu 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 133, poor air · instead April79
  5. Xi'an 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 123, poor air · instead April75
  6. Chongqing 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 112, poor air · instead March75
  7. Hangzhou 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 107, poor air · instead October85
  8. Guangzhou 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 102, poor air · instead December70

…and 11 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own October verdict.

Peak crowds

9 places

The editor's peak month for the place: full, expensive, and booked well ahead.

  1. San Francisco 🇺🇸 United StatesPeak crowds — Hardly Strictly Bluegrass · instead September90
  2. Seoul 🇰🇷 South KoreaPeak crowds — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it · instead May83
  3. New York 🇺🇸 United StatesPeak crowds — the editor's peak month · instead May80
  4. Osaka 🇯🇵 JapanPeak crowds — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it · instead November80
  5. Tokyo 🇯🇵 JapanPeak crowds — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it · instead May75
  6. Kathmandu 🇳🇵 NepalPeak crowds — Dashain · instead November73
  7. Delhi 🇮🇳 IndiaPeak crowds — Autumn break (Dussehra / Diwali) in India · instead February69
  8. Hong Kong 🇭🇰 Hong KongPeak crowds — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it · instead December65

…and 1 more, 1 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own October verdict.

Closed for the season

1 place

Hotels, lifts, ferries or the sights themselves shut for the month.

  1. Santorini 🇬🇷 Greecesome of the town shuts for the month · instead September88