Mexico weather by month

Mexico is a huge country, sitting to the south of the western half of the USA, and its sheer size and topography give it a varied climate. Two-thirds of the country consists of plateau and high mountains while its southern half lies within the tropics.

Beach near Tulum on Mexico's Caribbean Coast © Diegocardini - Fotolia.com

Other factors also influence Mexico's weather: the cold California current, which runs southward along its Pacific coast, lowers west coast temperatures and reduces rainfall, giving north-western regions a desert or semi-desert climate.

Northern Mexico's proximity to the great land mass of the USA and Canada brings the region very warm, dry summers and extremely cold winters with snowy spells.

The west coast is protected from these climatic extremes by the mountains of Central Mexico while, on the east coast, the warm Caribbean Sea combines with northeast trade winds to create a tropical climate similar to that of the Caribbean islands, with a wet summer season. Indeed, the whole of Mexico receives most of its rain in the summer months (May to October) but the Caribbean coast has the heaviest downpours.

The north coast of the Yucatan peninsula witnesses much less rain, while the Pacific Coast gets wetter the further south you go.

Most of Mexico has a pleasant climate and sunny weather for a large part of the year but the Pacific coast, in the south (where Acapulco is located), and the coasts of the Yucatan, which include Cancun, are affected by heat and high humidity in the summer rainy season.

In late summer, both Pacific and Caribbean coasts can be hit by tropical storms which bring two or three days of heavy rain. In mountainous parts of central Mexico, including Mexico City, temperatures are reduced by the altitude. The northern and central areas of the plateau are dry and arid.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Maximum daytime temperature °C	22	24	26	27	27	25	24	24	23	23	23	22
Hours of sunshine (daily)	6	7	7	6	6	5	5	5	4	5	6	5
Days with some rainfall	2	1	3	6	10	15	20	19	16	8	4	2

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More about Mexico

Mexico by month

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

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The climate guide for Mexico (Mexico City) shows long term monthly weather averages processed from data supplied by CRU (University of East Anglia), the Met Office & the Netherlands Meteorological Institute. Find out more about our data sources.

Mexico climate overview

Mexico is a vast country with attractions that range from pre-Columbian ruins and grand colonial cities to white-sand beaches and glitzy resorts. It receives over 20 million visitors a year, most of them from the USA and Canada.

Its most distinctive geographical feature is the vast central plateau, flanked by mountains, that runs through the heart of the country from the border with the USA through almost two thirds of its length. At the southern end of the plateau near Mexico City there is a band of volcanoes running from east to west. About half a dozen are active, most notably Colima and Popocatepetl.

The distinctive cathedral in Guadalajara, Mexico © Quir Arte - Adobe Stock Image

While the plateau itself is generally sparsely vegetated, forests of pine and oak dominate the mountains to the west. Throughout the south of the country, with its lower elevations, the vegetation is more typical of the tropics, and there are still some areas of undisturbed rainforest.

Generally Mexico has a tropical climate with wet summers and dry winters, however the north of the country sees little rainfall at any time while in Tabasco and southern Veracruz there is practically no dry season.

Stretch of hotels along Cancun's Caribbean coast © Jdross75 - Adobe Stock Image

At the beginning of the wet season, towards the end of May, rain starts falling in the south of the country. It extends northwards almost all the way up the west coast by the end of July, and up the Gulf coast by the end of September, becoming progressively lighter further north and inland.

The rains moderate between September and November, remaining longer on the Gulf than the Pacific Coast. Since rain in Mexico tends to fall mainly at night, there are still usually at least 6 hours of sunshine each day in most beach resort areas such as , even at the height of the rainy season.

On the coastal plains, including Cancun on the Yucatan Peninsular, temperatures in the summer months are hot, and heat and humidity usually very high. However once on to the central plateau the high temperatures and heat and humidity disappear.

At the southern end of the plateau, for example around Mexico City, the warmest months are April and May, just before the rains begin. Daytime temperatures through the summer are warm but everywhere at high altitudes temperatures fall at night by as much as 15°C (27°F) in summer and by more in winter.

In the dry season heat and humidity moderates a little in the southern coastal regions, but temperatures still remain hot. Generally at this time of year it is far less cloudy and quite a bit warmer on the Pacific coast at places such as Ixtapa than on the Gulf and Caribbean coasts. On the plateau in the dry season it is still warm but at night temperatures drop sharply and frosts can occur.

Explore Mexico's ancient Maya civilisations at Chichen Itza © Joseph - Adobe Stock Image

Mexico is prone to hurricanes that may strike from either the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean between June and November. It has also suffered some devastating earthquakes, most recently in 1985 when thousands died in Mexico City alone. The most active faults lie parallel to the south-west coast and stretch north-west into the Gulf of California, but when they strike, earthquakes can be felt far inland.

What to pack for Mexico

Pack light summer clothing supplemented with light jackets or wraps for chillier evenings. Take much warmer clothes if you are going into the highlands or to the north of the country in the winter. Add rainwear if visiting in the summer.

Mexico temperature by month

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Riviera Maya	28	28	30	32	32	32	32	33	32	30	29	28

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Acapulco	31	31	31	32	32	32	32	32	31	31	31	31
Cabo San Lucas	25	25	26	29	30	31	33	33	32	31	29	27
Cancun	28	28	30	32	32	32	32	33	32	30	29	28
Chichen Itza	29	31	33	35	35	34	34	34	33	32	31	29
Cozumel	28	29	30	32	32	32	32	33	32	31	29	28
Guadalajara	24	26	29	31	32	30	27	27	27	27	26	24
Merida	29	30	33	35	36	34	34	34	33	31	30	29
Mexico City	22	24	26	27	27	25	24	24	23	23	23	22
Oaxaca	26	27	29	30	30	27	26	27	25	26	26	26
Playa del Carmen	28	29	31	32	32	32	32	33	32	31	29	29
Puerto Vallarta	29	29	30	32	33	33	33	33	32	32	31	29
San Jose del Cabo	25	25	27	30	32	33	34	34	33	32	30	27
Tulum	29	30	31	33	33	33	33	33	32	31	30	29