![Mexico Köppen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Mexico_K%C3%B6ppen.svg)
The climate of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
is very varied.
The
Tropic of Cancer
The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted tow ...
effectively divides the country into
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
and
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
zones. Land that is north of the twenty-fourth parallel experiences lower temperatures during the winter months. South of the twenty-fourth parallel, temperatures are fairly consistent all year round and vary solely as a function of elevation. The north of the country usually receives less
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
than the south.
By region
Areas south of the twentieth-fourth parallel with elevations up to (the southern parts of both coastal plains as well as the
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...
), have a yearly median temperature between . Temperatures here remain high throughout the year, with only a difference between winter and summer median temperatures. Although low-lying areas north of the twenty-fourth parallel are hot and humid during the summer, they generally have lower yearly temperature averages (from ) because of more moderate conditions during the winter.
Between , one encounters yearly average temperatures between . Towns and cities at this elevation south of the twenty-fourth parallel have relatively constant, pleasant temperatures throughout the year, whereas more northerly locations experience sizeable seasonal variations. Above , temperatures drop as low as an average yearly range between in the
Cordillera Neovolcánica. At ,
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
(primarily
subtropical highland climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
) has a yearly median temperature of with pleasant summers and mild winters. Average daily highs and lows for May, the warmest month, are , and average daily highs and lows for January, the coldest month, are .
Rainfall varies widely both by location and season. Arid or semiarid conditions are encountered in the
Baja California Peninsula, the northwestern state of
Sonora, the northern altiplano, and also significant portions of the southern altiplano. Rainfall in these regions averages between per year, although even less in some areas, particularly in the state of Baja California. Average rainfall totals are between in most of the major populated areas of the southern altiplano, including Mexico City and
Guadalajara. Low-lying areas along the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
receive in excess of of rainfall in an average year, with the wettest region being the southeastern state of Tabasco, which typically receives approximately of rainfall on an annual basis. Parts of the northern altiplano, highlands and high peaks in the Sierra Madres receive yearly snowfall. Citlaltépetl, Popocatépetl and, Iztaccíhuatl continue to support
glaciers, the largest of which is the
Gran Glaciar Norte.
Mexico has pronounced wet and dry
seasons
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
. Most of the country experiences a rainy season from June to mid-October and significantly less rain during the remainder of the year. February and July generally are the driest and wettest months, respectively. Mexico City, for example, receives an average of only of rain during February but more than in July. Coastal areas, especially those along the Gulf of Mexico, experience the largest amounts of rain in September.
Tabasco
Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa.
It is located in ...
typically records more than of rain during that month. A portion of northwestern Baja California has a
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
influenced by the
California Current
The California Current is a cold water Pacific Ocean current that moves southward along the western coast of North America, beginning off southern British Columbia and ending off southern Baja California Sur. It is considered an Eastern bound ...
, with a rainy season that occurs in winter and coastal regions receiving considerable fog. Another area of the Mediterranean climate as a result of elevation occurs in the interior of Sonora.
Mexico lies squarely within the
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
belt, and all regions of both coasts are susceptible to these storms from June through November. Hurricanes on the Pacific coast are often less violent than those affecting Mexico's eastern coastline. Several hurricanes per year strike the
Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico coastline, however, and these storms bring high winds, heavy rain, extensive damage, and occasional loss of life.
Hurricane Gilbert
Hurricane Gilbert was the second most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Atlantic basin in terms of barometric pressure, only behind Hurricane Wilma in 2005. An extremely powerful tropical cyclone that formed during the 1988 Atlantic hurr ...
passed directly over
Cancún
Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...
in September 1988, with winds in excess of , producing major damage to hotels in the resort area. It then struck northeast Mexico, where flooding from the heavy rain killed dozens in the
Monterrey area and caused extensive damage to livestock and vegetable crops.
File:Lago de Camecuaro.jpg, '' Lago de Camécuaro''
Dry-winter humid subtropical climate (Cwa)
File:Guamuchil, Sinaloa (5768649853).jpg , ''Guamúchil
Guamúchil (, , ) is a city located in the state of Sinaloa in Northwestern Mexico. It is located 100 km north of Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa. The city serves as the seat of the municipality of Salvador Alvarado and is the economic a ...
''
Hot semi-arid climate (BSh)
File:Laguna del sol.jpg, ''Nevado de Toluca
Nevado de Toluca () is a stratovolcano in central Mexico, located about west of Mexico City near the city of Toluca. It is the fourth highest of Mexico's peaks, after Pico de Orizaba, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. The volcano and the area ar ...
''
Alpine tundra (ET)
File:WetlandsSoutSan.JPG, '' Chontalpa''
Tropical monsoon climate (AM)
File:Buffalo in Chihuahua.jpg, '' Janos Biosphere Reserve''
Cold semi-arid climate (BSk)
File:Basaseachic Falls National Park in the winter.jpg, ''Basaseachic Falls National Park
Basaseachic Falls National Park is a national park located in the western side of the state of Chihuahua in the heart of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range. The park is named after Basaseachic Falls (Cascada de Basaseachic) the second ...
''
Humid continental climate (Dfa)
File:Pastando.jpg, '' Lagunas de Zempoala''
Highland oceanic climate (Cwb)
File:Adobe guadalupe winery 2.jpg, ''Valle de Guadalupe
The Valle de Guadalupe (Guadalupe Valley) is an area of Ensenada Municipality, Baja California, Mexico that is an increasingly popular tourist destination for wine and Baja Med cuisine. It is located north of the City of Ensenada and southeas ...
''
Hot-summer mediterranean climate (Csa)
File:Sierra La Marta (12992441625).jpg, ''Sierra de Arteaga
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and " saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain rang ...
''
Subpolar oceanic climate (Cwc)
File:Laguna Miramar en la Selva Lacandona.jpg, ''Selva Lacandona
The Lacandon Jungle (Spanish: ''Selva Lacandona'') is an area of rainforest which stretches from Chiapas, Mexico, into Guatemala. The heart of this rainforest is located in the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas near the border with Guate ...
''
Tropical rainforest climate (Af)
File:Matamoros008.JPG, ''Río Bravo del Norte
The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.
The length of the Rio G ...
''
Humid subtropical climate without dry season (Cfa)
File:Dunas de Bilbao 9.JPG, '' Dunas del Bilbao''
Hot arid climate (BWh)
File:Mountains04-Sierra SanPedroMartir-BajaCalifornia-Mexico.jpg, '' San Pedro Mártir National Park''
Warm-summer mediterranean climate (Csb)
File:Santuario_de_Guadalupe_en_Real_de_Catorce.jpg, ''Real de Catorce
Real de Catorce (; meaning: ''Real unit of currencyof Fourteen''), often shortened to Real, is a village in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí and the seat of the municipality of Catorce. It is located north of the city of San Luis Potosí, ...
''
Cold arid climate (BWk)
File:2010. Cobá. Quintana Roo. México.-2.jpg, ''Cobá
Coba ( es, Cobá) is an ancient Maya city on the Yucatán Peninsula, located in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The site is the nexus of the largest network of stone causeways of the ancient Maya world, and it contains many engraved and scul ...
''
Tropical savanna climate (Aw)
File:Pico de Orizaba glacier ascent.jpg, ''Pico de Orizaba
Pico de Orizaba, also known as Citlaltépetl (from Nahuatl = star, and = mountain), is an inactive stratovolcano, the highest mountain in Mexico and the third highest in North America, after Denali of Alaska in the United States and Mount ...
''
Ice Cap climate (EF)
Weather records
;Temperature
* Heat: 52.5 °C (126.5 °F) in
San Luis Río Colorado
San Luis Río Colorado is a city and also the name of its surrounding municipality in the state of Sonora, Mexico. In the 2020 census, the city had a population of 176,685. The city is the fourth-largest community in the state, and the munici ...
,
Sonora on 15 June 1966
* Cold: −29 °C (−20.2 °F) in
Los Lamentos,
Chihuahua on 11 January 1962
;Precipitation
*
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...
record for 24-hour rainfall: 1633.98 mm (64.33 inches) over the time period of 12:30 UTC on 21 October 2005 to 12:30 UTC 22 October 2005 on
Isla Mujeres
Isla Mujeres (, Spanish for "Women Island" (formally “Isla de Mujeres”) is an island where the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea meet, about off the Yucatán Peninsula coast in the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is approximately long ...
,
Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo ( , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 11 mu ...
during the passage of
Hurricane Wilma
Hurricane Wilma was an extremely intense and destructive Atlantic hurricane which was the most intense storm of its kind and the second-most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the Western Hemisphere, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Part o ...
. Also the record for the
Northern Hemisphere.
Climate change
See also
*
Climate change in Mexico
*
Geography of Mexico
The geography of Mexico describes the geographic features of Mexico, a country in the Americas. Mexico is located at about 23° N and 102° W in the southern portion of North America. From its farthest land points, Mexico is a little over in ...
References
External links
Official siteof the
Servicio Meteorológico Nacional
{{North America topic, Climate of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...