Rainy Season in Mexico: Month by Month
Quick answer: Almost all of Mexico’s rain falls between June and October, whatever the region. Mexico City’s wet months are Jun–Sep — 159 mm (6.3 in) in August against 7 mm (0.3 in) in December — and Puerto Vallarta’s are Jun–Oct, but far heavier: 353 mm (13.9 in) in August across 30 rain days. The Caribbean side peaks later, and Los Cabos barely has a season at all: 284 mm (11.2 in) in a whole year.
Pick a destination to see its weather month by month and the best time to go, or pick a month to see where the weather is at its best.
Tokyo · a city trip
Good: Mar–May, Oct–DecNo month is ideal for a city trip by our rule, but these come close.
- Warmest
- Aug · 89°F
- Coolest
- Jan · 49°F
- Wettest
- Jul · 16 rain days
- Averages for 2006–2025: any single year can be hotter, colder or wetter.
Weather from NASA POWER daily data, 2006–2025, for the ~50 km area around each place. Right on the coast, afternoons can be a few degrees warmer than shown.
| Month | High / low (°F) | Rain days | Rain (in) | Storms within 100 mi | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49° / 34° | 5 | 2.4 | Off (too cold) | |
| Feb | 51° / 35° | 7 | 3.1 | Off (too cold) | |
| Mar | 57° / 40° | 12 | 5.1 | Good (cool, showery) | |
| Apr | 65° / 48° | 12 | 6 | Good (showery) | |
| May | 73° / 58° | 13 | 6.6 | Good (showery) | |
| Jun | 79° / 65° | 16 | 8.1 | Off (too wet) | |
| Jul | 86° / 73° | 16 | 6.5 | Off (too wet) | |
| Aug | 89° / 75° | 15 | 5.4 | Off (too hot) | |
| Sep | 82° / 70° | 16 | 8.7 | Off (too wet) | |
| Oct | 72° / 59° | 14 | 8.9 | Good (showery) | |
| Nov | 63° / 48° | 11 | 4.4 | Good (showery) | |
| Dec | 54° / 39° | 7 | 3.2 | Good (cool) |
The tool above opens on Mexico City: change the place or the month to yours, or compare Puerto Vallarta, Cancún and Cabo San Lucas. Below, Mexico month by month — rain, rain days and how warm it is.
Mexico month by month
Average rainfall and the number of days with at least 1 mm of rain, 2006–2025. On this page a month counts as wet when it gets more rain than an average month in that place (more than a twelfth of its year), and dry when it gets less than half an average month. The months in between are the shoulder.
| Month | Mexico City | Puerto Vallarta | Cancún | Cabo San Lucas | Mexico City: rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2 days — dry | 2 days — dry | 12 days — shoulder | 1 days — dry | 8 mm (0.3 in) |
| February | 2 days — dry | 2 days — dry | 8 days — shoulder | 1 days — dry | 13 mm (0.5 in) |
| March | 4 days — dry | 1 days — dry | 6 days — dry | 1 days — dry | 15 mm (0.6 in) |
| April | 7 days — dry | 1 days — dry | 5 days — dry | 0 days — dry | 23 mm (0.9 in) |
| May | 15 days — shoulder | 2 days — dry | 10 days — shoulder | 0 days — dry | 60 mm (2.4 in) |
| June | 22 days — wet | 17 days — wet | 17 days — wet | 1 days — dry | 134 mm (5.3 in) |
| July | 28 days — wet | 28 days — wet | 17 days — shoulder | 3 days — shoulder | 158 mm (6.2 in) |
| August | 28 days — wet | 30 days — wet | 21 days — wet | 9 days — wet | 159 mm (6.3 in) |
| September | 26 days — wet | 28 days — wet | 23 days — wet | 10 days — wet | 148 mm (5.8 in) |
| October | 14 days — shoulder | 16 days — wet | 21 days — wet | 4 days — wet | 62 mm (2.4 in) |
| November | 6 days — dry | 3 days — dry | 15 days — wet | 1 days — shoulder | 21 mm (0.8 in) |
| December | 2 days — dry | 2 days — dry | 12 days — shoulder | 2 days — shoulder | 7 mm (0.3 in) |
Mexico City is wet in Jun–Sep, shoulder in May, Oct and dry in Nov–Apr. Puerto Vallarta is wet in Jun–Oct and dry in Nov–May. Cancún is wet in Jun, Aug–Nov, shoulder in May, Jul, Dec–Feb and dry in Mar–Apr. Cabo San Lucas is wet in Aug–Oct, shoulder in Jul, Nov–Dec and dry in Jan–Jun.
The same months, four different amounts of water. Puerto Vallarta’s August alone (353 mm (13.9 in)) is more than Los Cabos gets in a year (284 mm (11.2 in)). Mexico City’s rain is an afternoon event at altitude — 28 rain days in August, but only 70°F / 21°C of heat — while Cancún’s peak comes in October, by which time the Pacific coast is winding down: Puerto Vallarta’s October is 135 mm (5.3 in), against 353 mm (13.9 in) in August.
The wettest and driest months
Mexico City: wettest in August (159 mm (6.3 in), 28 rain days), driest in December (7 mm (0.3 in), 2 rain days). Puerto Vallarta: wettest in August (353 mm (13.9 in), 30 rain days), driest in April (3 mm (0.1 in), 1 rain day). Cancún: wettest in October (208 mm (8.2 in), 21 rain days), driest in March (39 mm (1.5 in), 6 rain days). Cabo San Lucas: wettest in September (107 mm (4.2 in), 10 rain days), driest in May (1 mm (under 0.1 in), under a rain day). Over the year, Mexico City gets 808 mm (31.8 in).
Does the rainy season mean storms?
Not by itself — but Cabo San Lucas is on the hurricane map, and the two overlap here. In the 50 seasons to 2025 a tropical storm or hurricane passed within 100 miles of it in 24 of them in September, its busiest month — which is to say that in the other 26, that month was rain and nothing else. Rain is what most of a wet season is: for the storms themselves, see hurricane season by destination.
The best months to go
Mexico City: Nov–Mar · Puerto Vallarta: Nov–Mar · Cancún: Feb–Apr · Cabo San Lucas: Apr–Jul, Nov. When to Go rates every month on temperature, rain days and storms — open Mexico City in the tool above and step through the year.
Plan it
- Top beach towns in Mexico
- What not to miss in Mexico
- Mexico City: the complete travel guide
- The airlines that fly US to Mexico
- Mexico City’s weather, month by month
- Where to travel this month
FAQ
When is the rainy season in Mexico?
Jun–Sep — the months that get more rain than an average month in Mexico City. August is the wettest, at 159 mm (6.3 in) across 28 rain days, against 7 mm (0.3 in) in December (NASA POWER, 2006–2025).
Does it rain all day in the rainy season in Mexico?
The measure here is a day with at least 1 mm of rain, not a day of rain. In August, Mexico City averages 28 rain days out of 31, with an average high of 70°F / 21°C.
What is the driest month in Mexico?
December, at 7 mm (0.3 in) across 2 rain days. The dry months, by the rule this page uses, are Nov–Apr.
When is the best time to visit Mexico?
When to Go rates Nov–Mar the best months for Mexico City, on temperature, rain days and — where it applies — storms. The other places on this page have their own; open the tool above on each.
Where in Mexico is dry in August?
Nowhere on this page, but Los Cabos is close: 66 mm (2.6 in) in August, against Puerto Vallarta’s 353 mm (13.9 in) on the same coast. Los Cabos is a desert — its whole year is 284 mm (11.2 in) — and its rain arrives in Aug–Oct.
How these numbers are made
Daily rainfall and temperature from NASA POWER (MERRA-2), averaged over 2006–2025; a rain day is a day with at least 1 mm. POWER works on a grid of about 50 km, so each place here is its neighbourhood rather than its own rain gauge: a coast, a small island or a valley under a mountain can differ from the square it sits in. The months are the part that holds; treat a single millimetre figure as an average, not a forecast. Storm counts are from NOAA’s best tracks (HURDAT2), 1976–2025.