Mexico - weather in May

May is the last month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and in Mexico, a very large country crossed by the Tropic of Cancer in the central part, it is generally a hot (and in some areas very hot) and sunny month. We are at the end of the dry season, and in some areas the rains are starting to increase.
The mildest temperature in the plains is recorded on the north-western coast, exposed to the Pacific, where a cold current flows (see Tijuana, Ensenada). In the highlands it is cool at night, but it can be very hot during the day, especially in the center-north.
On the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, the muggy period begins.
In some areas of Mexico (Yucatán, Cancún and the Riviera Maya, the southern tierras frìas including Mexico City, Chiapas), May is the warmest month of the year, because in the following months the rainy season will slightly lower the temperature.
Especially in inland areas and at low altitudes, heat waves can occur, during which the temperature can reach and exceed 40 °C (104 °F).
As mentioned, in May we are at the end of the dry season. The rains are very rare or completely absent in the northwest, in the California peninsula. In the Chihuahuan desert (see Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua) and on the central-northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico (see Matamoros, Tampico), showers and thunderstorms are starting to occur. The rainiest areas, where the average already exceeds 100 mm (4 in), are the eastern part of Yucatán (see Cancún and the Riviera Maya) and Chiapas.

The sea is warm enough for swimming everywhere, except on the Pacific coast, where it is cold in the north (see Tijuana, Ensenada), due to the already mentioned cold current, and just enough on the southern tip of the California peninsula (see Los Cabos), where it reaches 23 °C (73 °F). On the coast of the Gulf of California, east of the peninsula, the sea is a bit cool, around 22 °C (71.5 °F).

The following tables show the climate averages in the month of May in Mexico in a selection of locations.

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Monthly climate averages - May

(from north to south)
















See also: Mexico, the weather in April - June
The climate of Mexico