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In Oceania is American Samoa, an overseas territory of the United States of America. American Samoa is also referred to as Eastern Samoa, which has to do with the fact that the territory is part of sovereign Samoa until 1899 formed one country. The Independent State of Samoa is therefore regularly referred to by Americans as Western Samoa (Western Samoa). American Samoa has a tropical rainforest climate (type Af according to the Köppen climate classification), in which a fairly high relative humidity, regular rainfall and a fairly constant temperature are among the most important factors of the climate. The average maximum temperature is around thirty degrees throughout the year. After sunset, the temperature drops slowly, eventually reaching a lowest 24-hour temperature of about 22 to 25 degrees Celsius.

Regen

With an average of more than three thousand millimeters of rain per year, American Samoa can be called fairly wet. American Samoa has a distinctly wetter season, which runs from late October through May. The months of June, July, August and September are somewhat drier, but the chance of a rain shower is also quite obvious in these months. Rainfalls in American Samoa often fall unexpectedly and can be very intense. They are also often quite short-lived. It is therefore advisable to always have an umbrella with you when you go for a walk, unless you don’t mind getting wet.

The hurricane

American Samoa is located in a zone where severe tropical storms can occur. These hurricanes, which are locally called cyclones, can occur especially in the months of January, February, March and April. In the border months of the hurricane season (December and May), this chance is already considerably smaller. One cyclone that has caused quite a bit of damage is Val, which struck early in the 1991/92 hurricane season. In early December, Val caused an estimated $200 million in damage to American Samoa.

Climate figures

The figures below are based on long-term average climate statistics. The temperatures are displayed in degrees Celsius (°C).

Best time to visit American Samoa

Do you want to know when is the best time to travel to American Samoa? You can determine the best time to travel to a destination based on the weather and climate. In addition, there are other factors that are not directly related to the weather and that can influence the best travel periods for a travel destination. Think, for example, of holidays or festive periods, which makes traveling more interesting or not, because daily life comes to a standstill as a result.

Best months

If you want to travel to American Samoa, the best time to travel is from June to September. In this period, which coincides with the Dutch summer, it is not too hot and there is the least precipitation. That doesn’t mean it’s a dry season. There can always be a thunderstorm. Even driving rain with larger amounts of precipitation within a short period of time cannot be ruled out. The average amount of monthly precipitation is still between 150 and 200 millimeters in the drier periods.

A wet destination

In the capital Pago Pago, an average of 3100 millimeters of precipitation is measured annually. That’s a decent amount. If you compare it with the Netherlands, there is about four times as much precipitation on American Samoa than in the Netherlands. Travelers who want to go to American Samoa in the period between October and May can count on roughly three hundred millimeters per month, or even more. The showers can be very heavy. Sometimes it can rain hard for hours on end. Not the most ideal beach weather, then.

Mount Pioa is partly responsible for the large amounts of rain. This mountain is a monolith that has been nicknamed Rainmaker Mountain. The more than five hundred high mountain blocks the flow of clouds, which rain empty here as a result. On the mountain itself, the annual precipitation is even higher than in the town of Pago Pago: around five thousand millimeters.

The hurricane

American Samoa is located in an area prone to hurricanes. That chance exists from November to mid-May. The greatest chance of experiencing a hurricane or tropical storm is from late December to early April. The combination of heat, a lot of rain and a chance of tropical storms make American Samoa not an ideal destination during this period.