Hurricane and Rainy Season Coming to a Quiet End

Hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean basin (which includes the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico) comes to an end in a few days (November 30) as does the rainy season in the Riviera Maya. September, October and November are typically the wettest months of the year and August, September and October have the highest chance for a tropical storm or hurricane strike.

This year there have only been 6 hurricanes and 2 tropical storms in the Atlantic basin (see NHC for details). There are normally about 6 hurricanes and a total of about 11 named storms. So there were about the normal number of hurricanes but fewer total named storms than normal. And there was only one other tropical depression that did not turn into a tropical storm or hurricane.  So really a pretty quiet hurricane season. 

How Many "Nortes" Will We Have This Winter (2014-2015)?

You are probably asking, "What is a Norte"?  A norte is a cold front, "frentes frio", that enters Mexico during the Fall, Winter, or Spring.  The official norte season is September 20 through May 15. Nortes bring cooler temperatures, slightly drier air, and sometimes rain showers to the Riviera Maya. Temperatures at night can get down to near 50 F (10 C) during a strong norte; though normally it only drops temperatures at night into the 60s F (about 15-20 C). Daytime temperature may only be in the 70s F (about 21-26 C) during a norte. Nortes normally only last a day or two in the Riviera Maya thanks to the warm waters that surround us in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Nortes occur most frequently from November to March. The early and late season nortes usually only affect northern Mexico. The warm Gulf of Mexico helps protect the Riviera Maya from any extreme effects of nortes (like freezing temperatures and snow that more northern and mountainous parts of Mexico receive).

What is the Weather Like in Cancun in January or March or ???

I used data from the Mexican National Weather Service (Servicio Meteorologico Nacional) to compile information that can help answer this question.  For Cancun the records go back about 20 years.

So just how hot is it in Cancun?  The chart below shows the average high and low temperatures and the record high and low temperatures for each month.  As you can see the average high temperature is 90 F or above from April through September.  The hottest month is August with an average high temperature of 95 F. The "coolest" month (January) has an average high temperature of 83 F.  Only the months of December, January, and February have an average low temperature below 70 F.  The record high was 107 F on August 14, 2003 and the record low was 49 F on March 12, 1996.

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