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Weather
About the same size as France, Thailand rests just south of the Tropic of Cancer, within the tropical monsoon zone of Southeast Asia.
Situated between 6° and 20°N, the country has an equatorial climate in the extreme south while the centre and north have a tropical monsoon
climate.
The south and centre of the country consists of the narrow Kra Isthmus that divides the
Pacific (Gulf of Thailand) from the Indian Ocean and joining the Malayan peninsula to the mainland of southeast Asia. Samui is located east of the
Kra Isthmus in the Gulf of Thailand.
Generally it is warm to hot throughout the year with variations, North to South. In the centre and south of the country there is little variation
in temperature from month to month, but in the north the period of the northeast monsoon is definitely cooler.
Most of Thailand has abundant rainfall, and this is largely confined to the months May to November, dominated
by the southwest monsoon blowing from the Indian Ocean, bringing warm, humid air, with cloud. Being located to the east of the mainland Samui is drier
than, for example, Phuket.
The months December to April, the period of the northeast monsoon, are drier, with the wind blowing overland from China. In the Kra Isthmus
these winds bring more rain since they are more likely to have originated in the Pacific Ocean or to have blown across the Gulf of Thailand.
More rain falls in the south at this time but the extreme north is quite dry for two or three months.
In most of Thailand the hottest months are April and May, before the cloudier, rainy weather brought by the southwest monsoon. Sunshine amounts
are lowest everywhere during the months June to September, when they average four to five hours a day. During the rest of the year they average
nine to ten hours.
During the sunnier months of the dry season there is usually more wind and it feels fresher.
Samui does not really have a proper monsoon season, just a time when it is
much more likely to rain! It is always warm to hot and is predominantly humid. The rain is warm and it can be a real downpour, but most
likely it will be over and done with fairly quickly. Storm activity around and about, generally
at night, produces some spectacular scenes, especially if you have a view over the sea!
Local Weather Forecast for Koh Samui
The following links are set to Samui but you can check out the conditions all over Thailand using the search facilities.
Satellite Temperature View
Weather Channel local Koh Samui "Feels Like" temperature and weather forecast.
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
CNN Weather Satellite
CNN Forecast
Thailand Metereoligical Department Forecast
TMD Animated Satellite Image
BBC Forecast
BBC S E Asia Forecast Map
Storm Watch Satellite Map
Samui rarely suffers extreme weather conditions but is often affected by the tail end of severe storms. Check out this site to see exactly where the next storm system is heading!
Use this next facility to check current and historical data for storms, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes etc. and convince yourself just how safe a place Samui is!
Pacific Asia Natural Disaster Centre
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