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Cancún sits on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in southeastern Mexico, on a low, flat limestone shelf beside a barrier island of white sand at approximately 21.16°N, 86.85°W. It has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — hot and humid year-round, cooled by sea breezes — with a wet season and a drier season, and it lies squarely in the Atlantic hurricane belt.
The wet season, from May to October, is hot and humid, with highs around 32–33°C and warm, sticky nights, tempered by the Caribbean breeze. Frequent afternoon downpours and thunderstorms bring the bulk of the year's rain, and this season coincides with the Atlantic hurricane season, when powerful storms can strike the exposed coast — Hurricane Wilma devastated Cancún in 2005.
The drier season, from November to April, is warm, sunny and pleasant, with highs around 28–29°C and comfortable nights near 20–21°C, occasionally cooler when a norte — a cold front pushing down from North America — brings brief cloud, wind and cooler air. Humidity is lower and rain much reduced, making this the peak tourist season.
Cancún receives on the order of 1,300–1,400 mm of rain a year, concentrated in the wet season from June to October, with a peak around September and October, while the winter months are markedly drier; even in the wet season, sunshine returns between the downpours. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.
Hurricanes are the defining hazard of Cancún's climate: the resort sits on an exposed Caribbean coast, and storms between June and November can bring destructive winds, storm surge and beach erosion. In winter, nortes sweeping down from North America bring brief cool, windy spells — the only interruption to an otherwise steady tropical warmth.
To follow any single measurement in Cancun more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.