Best Time To Travel To: Mexico
Mexico borders on the USA in the north and on Guatemala and Belize in the south. The state lies between 14 ° to 32 ° north. The northern half of Mexico is outside the tropics, the southern half, so to speak, in the tropical climate area.
Especially in the lower areas of Mexico one can speak of a tropical climate. Basically, as is well known, the altitude always has a somewhat lowering effect on the temperatures. This is interesting for Mexico, because two thirds of the country is made up of a higher plateau and mountains. However, it is often very warm even in high areas - at least during the day. At night it can get cool there in summer.
Mexico and the influence of external climatic phenomena
External climatic influences are also important for Mexico. The current from California is a cool current that pulls south along the Pacific coast. Although it lowers the temperatures, it also ensures a dry climate. This dry current and the influence of low pressure areas in the North Pacific create a desert-like climate in northwest Mexico. In principle, the climate from Southern California, New Mexico and Arizona continues from the USA towards Mexico. The east coast is influenced by the warm currents of the Caribbean and northeast winds in the tropical area. There is a rainy season here in summer.
The north of the USA, whose climate affects the north of Mexico, brings further influence. That means: cold climatic conditions in winter, especially when cold air fronts come through from the Canadian Arctic. But the summers are quite warm. In principle, these cold north winds - the Northers - can also bring extremely cold air to the east coast of Tampico or Veracruz. This leads to very cold days and it can even snow in these tropical areas. The west coast remains largely protected from these cold winds by the mountain ranges of Mexico.
The weather depending on the altitude
As mentioned at the beginning, altitude plays an important role in Mexico with regard to the climate. The country can be divided into regions up to 600 meters, between 600 and 1800 meters and those over 1800 meters. There are not many low areas up to 600 meters, most of them are in the coastal belt of the Pacific and on the Caribbean coast with the Yucatan Peninsula. Most regions in Mexico are at altitudes between 600 and 1,800 meters. It rains surprisingly little here, but it can get very cold in winter. In the mountains above 1,800 meters frost is common at least at night, snow can fall anywhere. In Mexico, however, it remains mainly at altitudes above 3,000 meters, below which snow remains less or at least rarely for long. In the Mexican highlands there is a warm climate. Mexico City at an altitude of over 2,300 meters may serve as an example. The city has a maximum annual average temperature of over 23 ° C (min. On average just under 9 ° C). You can tell from the average minimum temperatures for Mexico City that the temperatures can always be very cold (especially at night). Incidentally, smog is unfortunately quite common in higher altitudes, also here with the example of Mexico City. The combination of altitude and smog can make breathing extremely difficult and can be very stressful.
The main rainy season for Mexico is usually between May and November throughout the country, and June to November is also hurricane season. It also rains between November and April, but less than in summer. The plains of the Caribbean coast are considered the wettest region in Mexico. The north coast of the Yucatan Peninsula is comparatively drier than its east coast or the interior of the island. Basically, however, you also have to say for the main rainy season: During the day it doesn't rain a lot and the showers are rather short and heavy. Typically it rains in the evening and at night. At night, large quantities can come down, rivers can overflow their banks and roads can become impassable. Nevertheless, one should not simply exclude the rainy season as a possible travel time, especially since one can take a relatively cheap holiday in the country during this phase.
The Pacific coast and the Gulf of California are generally very dry. You can sometimes expect less than 250mm of precipitation per year. The tendency towards precipitation increases the further south you go. Here it usually rains the most where there are higher mountains behind the coast. On the plateau of Mexico, rainfall can come down as snow in winter. Nevertheless, the annual precipitation tends to be lower up here than on the coast, because the plateau is protected from the damp influence of the sea by the higher mountains in the east and the western Sierra Madre. Basically it is less sunnier where it rains more. Sounds kind of understandable, because in the regions for example on the east coast and the northern parts of the Pacific coast, the rain simply creates more clouds. In contrast, it is very sunny and often cloudless inland and at high altitudes. Both the east and west coast of Mexico are repeatedly hit by tropical storms. These usually bring strong storms and heavy rains for a few days. Usually you have to expect it between August and October. The storms on the east coast tend to be somewhat more violent than on the west coast.
For the drier north-west one could use the table from Guaymas as a basis. The inland could well be described with Monterrey and Mexico City, Monterrey (537 meters) being on the low altitudes, while Mexico City (2,310 meters) can be counted among the high-lying parts of the country on the plateau. For the tropical areas in the country one could use the climate tables of Merida (North Yucatan) as well as Acapulco and Salina Cruz on the south Pacific coast. In Yucatan the temperatures are a bit more pleasant, at least in winter. In summer it gets pretty hot here and the humidity is high.
The best time for Mexico - the phase from November / December to April
The best time for Mexico is difficult to define. Many visitors consider the period from December to April as the best time to travel to Mexico. You can leave it that way, but it still needs some explanation. The aforementioned phase is the dry season in Mexico. It's raining less. But between December and January and March to April and in the week before Easter there is a lot going on in Mexico. It is the main travel season and the prices generally rise. In addition, January to March in northern Mexico and especially in higher altitudes is only partially recommendable. There it can be cold at that time. The south is cheaper in this phase, as it is then neither extremely hot nor particularly humid. As already mentioned, March / April is a lot going on in places, especially where US students spend the spring break. In principle, the week before Easter up to Easter Sunday is also a main travel time. Even then you have to expect overbooked destinations and higher prices.
Incidentally, the unpredictability of the weather became apparent at the beginning of February 2010, when Mexico was suddenly hit by extreme rainfall during the dry season.
As you can see from the table for Merida, this phase is a pleasant travel time for Yucatan. It is also quite pleasant on the Pacific coast (see tables for Salina Cruz and Acapulco). On the high altitudes e.g.. in Mexico City - but also at half-height locations like in Monterrey - you have to reckon with at least colder phases during this time.
Problematic, but not a taboo - the phase from May to November
The phase from May to November is not recommended by many professionals for Mexico. It is the rainy season, coupled with high temperatures, this means a very humid climate. In many areas of Mexico it is raining, for example from July to September most of the year. It is also hurricane season in parts of Mexico. Most recently, around the beginning of July 2010, Hurricane Alex left its mark, and in 2013 hurricanes and tropical storms repeatedly struck in the phase between September and November. Nevertheless, the beginning and end of the rainy season can be interesting times to travel. In May, the dry season ends, so to speak, and the first storms and rains reach the country. Still, May can be an interesting month. With June you are in the off-season. If the weather is even more unstable, cheaper prices will be tempting. July and August can also be interesting months, even though you are in the middle of the rainy season. Most recently, heavy rain with landslides was reported from the south in July 2011, while tropical storm Ernesto caused chaotic conditions in August 2012. In Mexico it is sometimes holiday season, foreign tourists come less often. A certain problem at that time are the recognized humid conditions in regions such as Yucatan, Tabasco, Veracruz, Guerrero / Acapulco, Isthmus Oaxaca, Chiapas. In September and October it gradually gets cooler. Actually, the rainy season is coming to an end. However, you cannot rely on it either. There can be violent storms, in September 2013 the hurricanes Manuel and Ingrid caused severe devastation. From October you can definitely see that international tourism is slowly picking up. Here, too, until November, you have to reckon with violent tropical storms and heavy rainfall in places.
