News Rainy season arrives in southern Kyushu before Okinawa and Amami

For the first time in 62 years, the rainy season has begun in a region outside of Okinawa Prefecture or the Amami Islands—areas that typically experience it first in Japan's far south. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, southern Kyushu entered its rainy season on 16 May.


This marks a significant shift, as the onset is 23 days earlier than in 2024 and 14 days ahead of the regional average. What is especially noteworthy is that southern Kyushu has entered the rainy season ahead of Okinawa and Amami, which are usually the first to do so yearly.

A Pacific high-pressure front south of the main Honshu island has expanded out toward Okinawa, pushing the rainy season front northward toward Kyushu, the JMA said. In the average year, the rainy season comes to Okinawa around May 10, but the JMA forecast for that region over the next week is for sunny or cloudy weather rather than rain.

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The 'front' is the stationary front shown here:

And this is the current radar, showing some storms a little south of that front:
気象庁 | 雨雲の動き・雷活動度・竜巻発生確度（ナウキャスト）