American Samoa Weather & Climate: Monthly Averages

In Oceania lies 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 formed one country together with sovereign Samoa until 1899. The Independent State of Samoa is therefore regularly referred to by Americans as Western Samoa. American Samoa has a tropical rainforest climate (type Af according to the Köppen climate classification), whereby a fairly high relative humidity, regular rain showers, and a fairly constant temperature are among the most important factors of the climate. The average maximum temperature is around thirty degrees throughout almost the entire year. After sunset, the temperature drops slowly, to eventually reach a lowest daily temperature of approximately 22°C (72°F) to 25°C (77°F).

Rain

With an average of over 3000 mm (118 in) of rain per year, American Samoa can be called fairly wet. It has a clearly wetter season, which runs from late October through May. The months of June, July, August, and September are somewhat drier, but even in these months the chance of rain is quite clearly present. Rain in American Samoa often falls unexpectedly and can be very intense. They are also often quite short in duration.

Hurricanes

American Samoa lies in a zone where severe tropical storms can occur. These hurricanes, which are locally called cyclones, can particularly arise 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.

Best Months

Based on the weather and climate, you can determine what the best travel time is for a destination. If you want to travel to American Samoa, the period from June through September is the best travel time. In this period it is not too hot and the least precipitation falls. That does not mean it is a dry period. A thunderstorm can always occur, and even heavy downpours with larger amounts of precipitation within a short period cannot be ruled out.