Climate and Weather

: Image via Wikipedia

The country of Mexico straddles the Tropic of Cancer which almost bisects its north-south distance and its climate ranges predominantly from temperate to sub-tropical. Positioned fairly narrowly in much of its extension between the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean to the east and the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) to the west and south, the country’s climate is greatly affected by these large bodies of water as well as by the configuration of the Eastern and Western Sierra Madre mountain ranges that extend along most of each coastline.

Most of Mexico experiences a defined rainy season during the summer months. Though rains often begin falling in May and can extend well into October, regular rains are most likely to fall only from June through September, with both of these months receiving the heaviest rainfall of the whole season. In many areas July and August rains tend to be of slightly lesser strength and frequency, but all these patterns a vary widely according to the prevailing tropical storms of the season. Mean annual rainfall (recorded from 1941-2005) was 773.5 mm.

Mexico is highly affected by tropical storms and often hurricanes during the Pacific and Atlantic hurricane seasons which start on May 15 for the eastern Pacific and June 1 for the central Pacific and Atlantic, and end on November 30.

Average annual temperatures in the more tropical coastal regions of Mexico range from about 25 to 28 degrees C (77 to 82 degrees F) although in areas temperatures can soar to over 38 C (100 F) in both the dry, northern desert and humid, southern tropical areas. At the higher altitudes of the central plains, average annual temperatures tend to be in the 17 to 21 degree C (63 to 70 degree F) range, and at the highest altitudes (above 7,000 ft or so) they hover at around 16 C, or 60 F. Nationally, the mean annual low, medium and high temperatures run at 13.1, 20.7 and 28.3 degrees Celsius, respectively.