Typhoons in the Philippines
On average about 20 tropical cyclones enter or form inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility each year, and 8 or 9 of them cross the country. The peak is July to October, when nearly 70% of typhoons develop. Those are PAGASA's figures.
Looking for the storm happening now? This page has no live data. See where to check typhoon updates for PAGASA's live bulletin and accounts.
Written for the Philippines. In an emergency here, the number is 911.
The typhoon season
PAGASA puts the tropical cyclone months in this part of the Pacific at May to November, and adds that storms sometimes occur in every month. Within that, the peak of the typhoon season is July through October.
What a household does before, during and after a storm is on the typhoon preparedness guide.
Source: PAGASA, Tropical Cyclone Information (climatology). Read 8 October 2026.
Source: PAGASA, About Tropical Cyclones. Read 8 October 2026.
Why the Philippines gets so many
PAGASA's answer starts with position. More tropical cyclones enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility than anywhere else in the world. Most form over the wide stretch of ocean east of the country, and in the Pacific they normally move west or west-northwest, which is towards the Philippines, at an average of about 19 km/h.
Not every one that enters makes landfall. PAGASA defines landfall as the centre or eye of the storm reaching land, and says plainly that it is not the same as a storm entering the PAR. Of the roughly 20 a year, 8 or 9 cross the country.
Source: PAGASA, Tropical Cyclone Information (climatology). Read 8 October 2026.
Source: PAGASA, Philippine Area of Responsibility. Read 8 October 2026.
Source: PAGASA, About Tropical Cyclones. Read 8 October 2026.
Source: PAGASA, FAQs and Trivias (in Filipino). Read 8 October 2026. Used here for the definition of bagyo and the yearly count only. Its wind signal ranges are the old, pre-2022 ones.
What the PAR is
The Philippine Area of Responsibility is the innermost of three areas PAGASA watches. Its boundary runs through 5°N 115°E, 15°N 115°E, 21°N 120°E, 25°N 120°E, 25°N 135°E and 5°N 135°E. The eastern edge is several hundred kilometres out to sea, because that is where most storms come from; the western edge is closer to the coast.
A storm inside the PAR gets PAGASA's highest level of warning, the Tropical Cyclone Bulletin, and a local name. One still outside, in the wider advisory area, is too far to affect the country directly and gets a Tropical Cyclone Advisory instead.
Source: PAGASA, Philippine Area of Responsibility. Read 8 October 2026.
Source: PAGASA, Philippine Tropical Cyclone Names. Read 8 October 2026.
Tropical depression to super typhoon
In the western North Pacific, a strong tropical cyclone is called a typhoon. PAGASA sorts every tropical cyclone, a bagyo in Filipino, into five classes by its strongest sustained wind.
The five classes of tropical cyclone PAGASA uses
Ranked by the strongest sustained wind near the centre. The bars rank the classes; they are not drawn to scale.
- TD
- Tropical depression: up to 61 km/h.
- TS
- Tropical storm: 62 to 88 km/h.
- STS
- Severe tropical storm: 89 to 117 km/h.
- TY
- Typhoon: 118 to 184 km/h.
- STY
- Super typhoon: 185 km/h or more.
Source: PAGASA, About Tropical Cyclones. Read 8 October 2026.
| Class | Wind | In knots |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical depression (TD) | up to 61 km/h | under 34 knots |
| Tropical storm (TS) | 62 to 88 km/h | 34 to 47 knots |
| Severe tropical storm (STS) | 89 to 117 km/h | 48 to 63 knots |
| Typhoon (TY) | 118 to 184 km/h | 64 to 99 knots |
| Super typhoon (STY) | 185 km/h or more | 100 knots or more |
PAGASA's page prints the top of a tropical depression as 62 km/h and the bottom of a severe tropical storm as 87. The knot values beside them, and PAGASA's wind signal bands, give 61 and 89, so those are used here. The class tells you how strong the storm is at its centre; the wind signal tells you what to expect where you live.
Source: PAGASA, About Tropical Cyclones. Read 8 October 2026.
How PAGASA names a storm
Every tropical cyclone inside the PAR gets a local name from PAGASA, separate from its international name. Bulletins print both, for example "Tropical Storm MAYMAY (KUJIRA)".
The names come from four sets used in turn, so each set returns every four years. The first storm of the year takes the first name, starting with A, and so on down the list. If a season runs past 25 storms, PAGASA moves on to an auxiliary list for that set.
A name is retired if the storm directly caused at least 300 deaths, or damage to farms and infrastructure of at least the amount PAGASA sets, using the NDRRMC's figures.
The 2026 list
Set II, which was also used in 2022 and comes back in 2030. PAGASA marks Ada, Francisco, Kiyapo and Pilandok with an asterisk, and its own introduction still names Agaton as the first name of this set.
- Ada
- Basyang
- Caloy
- Domeng
- Ester
- Francisco
- Gardo
- Henry
- Inday
- Josie
- Kiyapo
- Luis
- Maymay
- Neneng
- Obet
- Pilandok
- Queenie
- Rosal
- Samuel
- Tomas
- Umberto
- Venus
- Waldo
- Yayang
- Zeny
Source: PAGASA, Philippine Tropical Cyclone Names. Read 8 October 2026.
When one is coming your way
The numbers say a storm will come. The signals say how long you have.