Ho Chi Minh City and southern Vietnam will likely enter the rainy season in early May, about 10 days earlier than usual, forecasters said, warning of thunderstorms, tornadoes and hail.
Tran Van Hung, deputy director of the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Center, said the rainy season in HCMC and southern provinces typically begins between May 10 and 20. This year, the southwest monsoon is already strengthening, and the first rains could arrive as soon as the start of May.
The transition between dry and wet seasons in southern Vietnam is often turbulent, with thunderstorms, lightning, tornadoes and occasional hail, Hung said, urging residents to prepare.
What made the 2025 storm unusual was that it was not driven by a typhoon or tropical convergence zone, forecasters said at the time. It was the product of an intense collision between the southwest monsoon and a low-pressure trough, a pattern that can be triggered by the same early-monsoon dynamics now in play.
Before the rains arrive, southern Vietnam is in the grip of intense heat as a hot low-pressure system from the west has expanded over the region.
Temperatures have climbed to 37-38 C in many outlying areas. Inner-city areas feel hotter still because of the urban heat island effect from concrete surfaces and dense high-rise construction.
The weather is expected to begin shifting on April 29-30, when central HCMC and outlying areas such as Hoc Mon and Binh Chanh have a 50-70% probability of thunderstorms.
Brief rains falling on top of high temperatures are expected to make the air feel more oppressive before the rainy season sets in properly.
Source: VN Express