Mexico Weather -- Tropical And General

Tropical weather in Mexico is A Matter of the seasons. General weather in Mexico is more a matter of altitude than seasons

Tropical weather, during hurricane season (late April-October) in Mexico is something any traveler should consider when planning a trip to Acapulco, Cancun, the Mexican Riviera, the Mayan Riviera, Yucatan, Veracruz, the Gulf Coast of Mexico. or any beach resort. Hurricanes do at least graze these areas frequently. Baja is not immune, though is less often host to a visiting hurricane. But, please read about the weather in Mexico in general before you leave this page, so you will understand more. Mexico is more than a desert between two beaches. Mexico is a vast country and colonial Mexico is seldom hot, even in the summer. That's the mistake most people make when they talk about summer in Mexico, when they only know the beach resorts. Please, learn more.

Tourists who have never been to Mexico, or have only traveled to Cancun or the beach resorts have misconceptions about the weather in Mexico. I can't count the times I've heard someone say," I wouldn't go to Mexico in the summer -- too hot." Nothing could be farther from the truth, as most Texans will tell you. Everyone knows winter is fine almost anywhere in Mexico, but don't know that it can get freezing or in the 40's in Mexico City, Morelia, Toulca and sometimes even San Miguel de Allende. People live, work and retire in Mexico because of the weather. San Miguel de Allende,Guanajuato, Cuernavaca, Oaxaca, Lake Chapala, Guadalajara,;Morelia,Cuernavaca or anywhere in colonial Mexico are just fine in summer. Tropical storm weather is a fact of life on the Gulf Coast of Mexico or the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Hurricanes pay frequent visits.

Mexico Weather By Seasons -- 3 Yes's or No's Means Pretty Intense. 1 Means Bearable.
Cities/Areas	Moderate Winter	Cold Winter	Hot Summer	Moderate Summer
Acapulco & South Pacific Coast	Yes	No	The Devil Summers Here	No, No, No
Alamos, Kino Bay	Yes	No	The Devil Summers Here	No, No, No
Cancun & Mayan Riviera	Yes	No	Yes for some, nice nights	Yes
Chihuhua	No	Yes	The Devil Summers Here	No
Cd. Victoria, Cd. Valles	Yes	No	Yes	No
Cuernavaca	Yes	No	No	Yes
Guadalajara, Lake Chapala	Yes, Yes, Yes	No, No, No	No, No, No	Yes
Mazatlan	Yes	No	Yes	No
Mexico D.F.	Generally, some cold days	No	No	Yes
Monterrey	Generally, some cold days	No	Yes, Yes, Yes	No, No, No
Morelia	Generally, some cold days	No	No, No, No	Yes
Oaxaca	Yes, Yes, Yes	No, No, No	No, No, No	Yes
Pto. Penasco	Yes	No	Not by Arizonan standards	Yes
Pto. Vallarta, Manzanillo	Yes	No	The Devil Summers Here	No
San Luis Potosi	Yes	No	Yes, Yes, Yes	No
Saltillo	No	Yes	No, No, No	Yes
San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato	Generally, some cold days	No	No, No, No	Yes
Tamazunchale	Generally, some cold days	No	No, but it can get in the 90's	Yes, but humid
Veracruz & Gulf Coast	Yes	No	Yes, Yes, Yes	No
Zacatecas	No, No, No	Yes, Yes, Yes	No, No, No	Yes, Yes, Yes

For current weather conditions for any city in Mexico, click here. For tropical storm updates during hurricane season, click here.

In my book, Live Better South of the Border, I give the weather conditions for all year for each of the two dozen Mexican cities foreigners might want to live. Yes in the summer, Alamos, San Carlos, Guaymas, and most of Sonora is too hot for most folks. Mazatlan is more bearable than Pto. Vallarta and it isn't as bad as farther south on the Pacific coast, if somewhat (okay a lot) humid. Acapulco and south are pretty darn hot.

Weather in Mexico is a more related to altitude than the seasons. Sure, it gets hot sometimes everywhere, but generally, if you are in colonial Mexico during the summer, you will be a lot cooler than most of the U.S. and southern Canada.

However, San Miguel de Allende, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Cuernavaca and most of Morelos state have spring-like temperatures all year. Oaxaca is cool all year. Monterrey is hot, but Saltillo is cool. In fact, Stephen F. Austin, the Texas revolutionary general used to summer there when he could. Many savvy Texans went there for their vacations before the advent of air-conditioning. Zacatecas is still cool even in the dead of summer.

The Yucatan is pretty warm, though the coast has cooling breezes. Winter is darn nice most everywhere, gringos go to Mexico. But it gets cold the higher up you are. And Morelia, though not very high can be pretty darn chilly. So can Monterrey. Saltillo, of course, is too cold for me. And Zacatecas -- fuggit about it! If you don't -- bring a heavy coat, or buy a leather one there.