Short answer: PAGASA's five wind signals map to wind ranges: Signal 1 is 39 to 61 km/h, Signal 2 is 62 to 88, Signal 3 is 89 to 117, Signal 4 is 118 to 184, and Signal 5 is above 220 km/h for a super typhoon. Each signal also carries a lead time, and none of them describes rainfall - which is what usually strands travellers.
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Search on Trip.comFor travellers in the Philippines between roughly June and December, and anyone trying to read a PAGASA bulletin without local context. Signal definitions last checked 30 July 2026 against the PAGASA wind-signal page; the current system has been in force since 23 March 2022.
| Signal | Wind range | Typical lead time | Practical effect |
|---|
| No. 1 | 39-61 km/h | Within 36 hours | Small boats stay in, some ferries suspended |
| No. 2 | 62-88 km/h | Within 24 hours | Most sea travel stops, some flights cancelled |
| No. 3 | 89-117 km/h | Within 18 hours | Sea travel halted, widespread flight cancellations |
| No. 4 | 118-184 km/h | Within 12 hours | Airports close, evacuations begin |
| No. 5 | Above 220 km/h | Within 12 hours | Super typhoon conditions, region shuts down |
The five signals and the wind speeds behind them
The Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal is a five-level warning system PAGASA uses to alert specific land areas to expected strong winds of at least 39 km/h. The key word is expected: a signal is a forecast for an area, not a measurement of what is happening there now.
The current ranges have been in place since 23 March 2022, when PAGASA modified the system after nearly seven years of the previous version, drawing on practice at other cyclone warning centres and feedback from users. Signal No. 5 was introduced to warn of winds above 220 km/h associated with super typhoons.
Because signals are assigned per area rather than per storm, two provinces can carry different numbers for the same cyclone, and your signal can rise or fall without the storm changing category. Watch the signal for where you are, not the headline about the typhoon.
Signal numbers describe wind, not rain - and rain is what floods
This is the single most important thing to understand about the scale. A wind signal quantifies wind. It does not quantify rainfall, storm surge or flooding, and the deadliest Philippine weather events have often been rainfall events rather than wind events.
PAGASA issues separate rainfall warnings using a yellow, orange and red scheme, and separate storm-surge and flood advisories. A slow-moving tropical depression carrying no wind signal at all can dump enough rain to close roads for days, while a fast-moving typhoon with a high signal passes in hours.
For a traveller this means reading two products, not one. The wind signal tells you whether the boat sails. The rainfall warning tells you whether the road to the port exists.
What suspends flights, ferries and road travel
Sea travel is the first thing to go and it goes early. The Philippine Coast Guard suspends departures for small vessels well before large ones, which is why a bangka to an island can be cancelled at Signal No. 1 while a large ferry still sails. MARINA regulates the operators, and the coastguard makes the call on the day.
Flights follow a different logic. Airlines cancel on their own operational assessment and on airport status, so cancellations cluster at Signal No. 2 and above and become near-total when an airport itself closes, typically around Signal No. 4.
Road travel is the most locally variable. Landslide-prone mountain roads close on rainfall rather than wind, and a province at Signal No. 1 can still have impassable highways. Bridges close on river levels, not on signal numbers.
Lead times: 36 hours at Signal 1, 12 hours at the top
Each signal carries an implied warning horizon. Signal No. 1 indicates the wind range is expected within 36 hours, Signal No. 2 within 24, Signal No. 3 within 18, and the top two signals within 12. The scale therefore encodes urgency as well as severity.
That compression is why waiting for a high signal before acting is a poor strategy. By the time Signal No. 4 is raised for your area, you have roughly half a day, the airport may already be winding down, and every other traveller is making the same decision.
The practical rule is to make your call at Signal No. 1 or 2, while options still exist. Moving a flight forward by a day is cheap at 36 hours and impossible at 12.
Reading a PAGASA bulletin without the jargon
Bulletins are issued on a fixed cycle and follow a consistent shape: the cyclone's location and movement, its maximum sustained winds and gustiness, the list of areas under each wind signal, and separate sections for rainfall, sea conditions and storm surge.
Two conventions confuse visitors. Philippine cyclones carry a local name assigned by PAGASA alongside any international name, so the same storm appears under two names in different sources. And the Philippine Area of Responsibility is a defined box - a storm can be inside it without threatening land, which produces alarming headlines about a cyclone entering the country when nothing is forecast to happen.
The wind signal reference and the bulletin page are the primary sources, and they are free.
What most guides get wrong about typhoon signals
The most damaging error is presenting the signal number as an overall danger rating. It is a wind forecast. Travellers who learn to treat Signal No. 1 as harmless miss that the rainfall warning running alongside it may be the more serious product, and that ferries are already cancelled.
The second is quoting outdated wind ranges. The system was modified on 23 March 2022, and older articles still circulate the previous thresholds and a four-signal scale without Signal No. 5. If a guide does not mention a fifth signal, its numbers predate the current system.
The third is the advice to simply avoid typhoon season. The Philippines averages around twenty cyclones entering its area of responsibility a year across a season spanning roughly half the calendar, and most of them affect a fraction of the archipelago. Avoiding the season means avoiding half the year; understanding the signals means travelling through it with a plan.
Frequently asked questions
What wind speed is Signal No. 3?
89 to 117 km/h, expected within 18 hours. At that level sea travel is halted and flight cancellations are widespread across the affected area.
Does a wind signal tell me about flooding?
No. Wind signals quantify wind only. PAGASA issues separate yellow, orange and red rainfall warnings plus flood and storm-surge advisories, and those are what predict flooding.
When was the current signal system introduced?
23 March 2022, when PAGASA modified the scale and added Signal No. 5 for super typhoons with winds above 220 km/h. Guides that describe only four signals predate this.
At what signal do ferries stop running?
Small boats often stop at Signal No. 1 and most sea travel halts by Signal No. 2 or 3. The Philippine Coast Guard suspends departures by vessel size, so a bangka can be grounded while a large ferry still sails.
Should I avoid the Philippines during typhoon season?
Not necessarily. Around twenty cyclones enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility yearly across roughly half the calendar, and most affect only part of the archipelago. Flexible bookings matter more than avoiding the months.
Why does the same storm have two names?
PAGASA assigns a local name to every cyclone entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility, alongside the international name. The same system appears under both names depending on which source you read.
