Places to avoid in September

In September, 355 well-known destinations sit inside a hazard season: hurricane season in 64 (Everglades National Park, Orlando, Puerto Vallarta and 61 more), monsoon in 78 (Telluride, Kolkata, Vientiane and 75 more), extreme heat in 51 (Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi and 48 more) and smoke season in 53 (Revelstoke, Sun Valley, Whistler and 50 more). By the numbers, of 1,387 destinations, 135 feel like 35 °C or more in the afternoon, 434 have 18 or more rainy days and 8 have poor air. 4 well-known places are at peak crowds and 2 are 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 September

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. Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesHurricane season, 1 Jun – 30 Nov · instead January47
  2. Orlando 🇺🇸 United StatesHurricane season, 1 Jun – 30 Nov · instead February53
  3. Puerto Vallarta 🇲🇽 MexicoHurricane season, 15 May – 30 Nov — The eastern Pacific season runs mid-May to the end of November. · instead April54
  4. 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 April55
  5. Puerto Escondido 🇲🇽 MexicoHurricane season, 15 May – 30 Nov — The eastern Pacific season opens in mid-May and runs to the end of November. · instead December55
  6. Valladolid 🇲🇽 MexicoHurricane season, 1 Jun – 30 Nov — The Atlantic season runs June to November. · instead January55

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

Monsoon on

105 places

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

  1. Telluride 🇺🇸 United StatesMonsoon, 5 Jul – 5 Sep (usually) · instead March19
  2. Kolkata 🇮🇳 IndiaMonsoon, 10 Jun – 25 Sep (usually) · instead January41
  3. Vientiane 🇱🇦 LaosMonsoon, 15 May – 15 Oct (usually) — The rain clears the smoke out and the Mekong comes up from a sandbank to a real river. · instead December43
  4. Yangon 🇲🇲 MyanmarMonsoon, 20 May – 15 Oct (usually) — Yangon takes one of the heaviest monsoons in the region and it rains for days at a time rather than in bursts. · instead January45
  5. Bangkok 🇹🇭 ThailandMonsoon, 15 May – 15 Oct (usually) · instead December46
  6. Phnom Penh 🇰🇭 CambodiaMonsoon, 15 May – 31 Oct (usually) — Late-afternoon downpours that flood the low streets for an hour and then clear. · instead January47

…and 99 more, 72 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own September verdict.

Extreme heat on

83 places

The weeks the city lives indoors.

  1. Dubai 🇦🇪 United Arab EmiratesExtreme heat, 15 May – 30 Sep (usually) · instead January35
  2. Doha 🇶🇦 QatarExtreme heat, 1 Jun – 20 Sep (usually) · instead January37
  3. Abu Dhabi 🇦🇪 United Arab EmiratesExtreme heat, 15 May – 30 Sep (usually) · instead January40
  4. AlUla 🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaExtreme heat, 1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually) — Visits move to the first hour after sunrise and to the evening; the middle of the day is spent indoors. · instead February42
  5. Riyadh 🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaExtreme heat, 1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually) — Dry heat with nothing to break it, and a city built to be driven through rather than walked. · instead February42
  6. Mecca 🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaExtreme heat, 15 May – 15 Sep — The city sits in a bare rock valley with nothing to soften the afternoon. · instead January43

…and 77 more, 45 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own September verdict.

Smoke season on

72 places

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

  1. Revelstoke 🇨🇦 CanadaSmoke season, 15 Jul – 15 Sep (usually) · instead February17
  2. Sun Valley 🇺🇸 United StatesSmoke season, 20 Jul – 15 Sep (usually) · instead February18
  3. Whistler 🇨🇦 CanadaSmoke season, 20 Jul – 10 Sep (usually) · instead February18
  4. Park City 🇺🇸 United StatesSmoke season, 15 Jul – 20 Sep (usually) · instead January19
  5. Jackson 🇺🇸 United StatesSmoke season, 15 Jul – 15 Sep (usually) · instead February20
  6. Banff 🇨🇦 CanadaSmoke season, 1 Jul – 15 Sep (usually) — Smoke from fires in British Columbia and Alberta settles in the Bow Valley most summers, worst in August. · instead February22

…and 66 more, 47 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own September verdict.

Typhoon season on

65 places

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

  1. Hue 🇻🇳 VietnamTyphoon season, 1 Sep – 30 Nov (usually) · instead February42
  2. Hanoi 🇻🇳 VietnamTyphoon season, 1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually) · instead December44
  3. Hội An 🇻🇳 VietnamTyphoon season, 1 Sep – 30 Nov (usually) — Central Vietnam takes the landfalls. · instead February44
  4. Manila 🇵🇭 PhilippinesTyphoon season, 1 Jun – 30 Nov (usually) · instead February45
  5. Macau 🇲🇴 MacaoTyphoon season, 1 Jul – 30 Sep (usually) — Signal eight closes the casinos, the ferries to Hong Kong and the bridge to the airport for the day. · instead December46
  6. Shenzhen 🇨🇳 ChinaTyphoon season, 1 Jul – 30 Sep (usually) · instead December46

…and 59 more, 32 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own September verdict.

Flood season on

50 places

The river comes into the streets most years.

  1. Hue 🇻🇳 VietnamFlood season, 25 Sep – 15 Dec (usually) · instead February42
  2. Ho Chi Minh City 🇻🇳 VietnamFlood season, 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually) · instead February43
  3. Mumbai 🇮🇳 IndiaFlood season, 15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually) · instead January43
  4. Manila 🇵🇭 PhilippinesFlood season, 1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually) · instead February45
  5. Bangkok 🇹🇭 ThailandFlood season, 15 Sep – 15 Nov (usually) · instead December46
  6. Varanasi 🇮🇳 IndiaFlood season, 25 Jul – 15 Sep (usually) · instead December49

…and 44 more, 18 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own September verdict.

Sargassum season on

16 places

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

  1. Fort Lauderdale 🇺🇸 United StatesSargassum season, 15 Apr – 30 Sep (usually) · instead March72
  2. Placencia 🇧🇿 BelizeSargassum season, 1 Apr – 30 Sep (usually) — The long east-facing beach collects weed through the summer and the hotels rake their own stretch. · instead March73
  3. Caye Caulker 🇧🇿 BelizeSargassum season, 1 Apr – 30 Sep (usually) — The east shore and the Split collect weed through the summer and crews rake it at dawn. · instead March75
  4. Montego Bay 🇯🇲 JamaicaSargassum season, 1 May – 30 Sep (usually) · instead January76
  5. Cancún 🇲🇽 MexicoSargassum season, 1 Apr – 30 Sep (usually) — Rafts of brown seaweed pile up on the east-facing beaches, worst between May and August. · instead March78
  6. Isla Mujeres 🇲🇽 MexicoSargassum season, 1 Apr – 30 Sep (usually) — The east-facing side takes the seaweed and the smell that comes with it once it rots. · instead March78

…and 10 more, 8 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own September verdict.

Landslide season on

15 places

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

  1. Kathmandu 🇳🇵 NepalLandslide season, 15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually) · instead November50
  2. Rishikesh 🇮🇳 IndiaLandslide season, 1 Jul – 15 Sep (usually) · instead December57
  3. Lake Atitlán 🇬🇹 GuatemalaLandslide season, 1 Jun – 31 Oct (usually) · instead January60
  4. Darjeeling 🇮🇳 IndiaLandslide season, 15 Jun – 20 Sep (usually) · instead November66
  5. Kasol 🇮🇳 IndiaLandslide season, 25 Jun – 10 Sep (usually) · instead October71
  6. Auli 🇮🇳 IndiaLandslide season, 1 Jul – 15 Sep (usually) — The highway up from Rishikesh is the only way in and it loses sections most weeks in these months. · instead January20

…and 9 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own September verdict.

Storm season on

10 places

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

  1. Aspen 🇺🇸 United StatesStorm season, 5 Jul – 5 Sep (usually) — Midsummer pulls moisture up the Rockies and builds thunderheads over the peaks most afternoons. · instead January20
  2. Sarasota 🇺🇸 United StatesStorm season, 1 Jun – 30 Sep · instead March79
  3. Denver 🇺🇸 United StatesStorm season, 5 Jul – 5 Sep (usually) — Moisture pulled up from the southwest sets off thunderstorms most afternoons in high summer. · instead September90
  4. Mesa Verde National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesStorm season, 5 Jul – 10 Sep (usually) — Afternoon thunderstorms build over the mesa most days from early July. · instead May90
  5. Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesStorm season, 5 Jul – 5 Sep (usually) · instead August90
  6. Bryce Canyon National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesStorm season, 10 Jul – 10 Sep (usually) — Thunderstorms build over the plateau most summer afternoons and the rim is the highest thing for miles. · instead September92

…and 4 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own September verdict.

Rip currents & big surf on

8 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 July48
  2. 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 February55
  3. Goa 🇮🇳 IndiaRip currents & big surf, 1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually) · instead January56
  4. Phuket 🇹🇭 ThailandRip currents & big surf, 15 May – 31 Oct (usually) · instead February56
  5. Krabi 🇹🇭 ThailandRip currents & big surf, 15 May – 15 Oct (usually) · instead February58
  6. Destin 🇺🇸 United StatesRip currents & big surf, 1 Mar – 31 Oct · instead May85

…and 2 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own September verdict.

Dust season on

7 places

Spring dust and sandstorms; sensitive lungs stay in.

  1. Phoenix 🇺🇸 United StatesDust season, 1 Jul – 10 Sep (usually) · instead March49
  2. Kagoshima 🇯🇵 JapanDust season, 15 May – 30 Sep (usually) · instead November55
  3. Marrakesh 🇲🇦 MoroccoDust season, 15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually) · instead March75
  4. Cusco 🇵🇪 PeruDust season, 1 May – 30 Sep (usually) — Bright still days, hard frost at night at 3,400 metres, and dust on the trails by August. · instead June92
  5. Tenerife 🇪🇸 SpainDust season, 15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually) · instead June96
  6. Scottsdale 🇺🇸 United StatesDust season, 15 Jun – 30 Sep · instead March52

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

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 March66
  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 April75
  3. Sarasota 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 1 Sep – 1 Mar (usually) · instead March79
  4. Clearwater 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 1 Aug – 28 Feb (usually) · instead April80
  5. Pensacola 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 1 Aug – 15 Dec (usually) · instead May82
  6. Tampa 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 1 Sep – 28 Feb (usually) · instead February57

Avalanche season on

3 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 February60
  2. Te Anau 🇳🇿 New ZealandAvalanche season, 1 May – 30 Nov (usually) · instead January69
  3. Taupo 🇳🇿 New ZealandAvalanche season, 1 May – 31 Oct · instead January67

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 January53
  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 February63

Cyclone season on

1 place

The southern-hemisphere storm season.

  1. Muscat 🇴🇲 OmanCyclone season, 15 May – 15 Nov (usually) — Two risk windows, before and after the Indian monsoon, and most years pass without one. · instead January58

Winter smog on

1 place

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

  1. Jakarta 🇮🇩 IndonesiaWinter smog, 15 Jun – 15 Oct (usually) · instead August68

Out of range by the numbers

Every destination whose September 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

434 places

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

  1. Jacó 🇨🇷 Costa Rica30 rainy days, 720 mm · instead February56
  2. Boquete 🇵🇦 Panama30 rainy days, 382 mm · instead February58
  3. Panama City 🇵🇦 Panama30 rainy days, 269 mm · instead February51
  4. Nosara 🇨🇷 Costa Rica30 rainy days, 425 mm · instead February57
  5. Kathmandu 🇳🇵 Nepal29 rainy days, 438 mm · instead November50
  6. Puerto Vallarta 🇲🇽 Mexico29 rainy days, 348 mm · instead April54
  7. Darjeeling 🇮🇳 India29 rainy days, 527 mm · instead November66
  8. Manang 🇳🇵 Nepal29 rainy days, 368 mm · instead November68

…and 426 more, 194 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own September verdict.

Too hot by the numbers

135 places

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

  1. Ras Al Khaimah 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates46°C afternoons · instead November78
  2. Doha 🇶🇦 Qatar44°C afternoons · instead January37
  3. Dubai 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates44°C afternoons · instead January35
  4. Abu Dhabi 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates43°C afternoons · instead January40
  5. Jeddah 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia41°C afternoons · instead January87
  6. Mecca 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia41°C afternoons · instead January43
  7. Nizwa 🇴🇲 Oman41°C afternoons · instead January47
  8. Chennai 🇮🇳 India40°C afternoons · instead February58

…and 127 more, 52 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own September verdict.

Bad air by the numbers

8 places

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

  1. Beijing 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 155, unhealthy air · instead April84
  2. Chengdu 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 140, poor air · instead April61
  3. Hangzhou 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 112, poor air · instead October60
  4. São Paulo 🇧🇷 BrazilAQI 104, poor air · instead July84
  5. Laayoune Western SaharaAQI 219, unhealthy air · instead March74
  6. Dakhla Western SaharaAQI 185, unhealthy air · instead October87
  7. Hotan 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 149, poor air · instead April87
  8. Ürümqi 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 128, poor air · instead September92

Peak crowds

4 places

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

  1. San Francisco 🇺🇸 United StatesPeak crowds — Summer break in United States · instead September96
  2. Nairobi 🇰🇪 KenyaPeak crowds — Safari high season · instead August94
  3. Zanzibar 🇹🇿 TanzaniaPeak crowds — September short break in Tanzania · instead September93
  4. New York 🇺🇸 United StatesPeak crowds — US Open · instead May84

Closed for the season

2 places

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

  1. Cancún 🇲🇽 Mexicosome of the town shuts for the month · instead March78
  2. Seoul 🇰🇷 South Koreasome of the town shuts for the month · instead May75