Monterrey, the industrial capital of northeastern Mexico, sits in the state of Nuevo León at around 500 metres above sea level, at the foot of the rugged Sierra Madre Oriental and about 280 km from the Gulf of Mexico, at approximately 25.67°N, 100.32°W. Lying north of the Tropic of Cancer, it has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh) — very hot summers and mild winters — with a wide temperature range and rainfall concentrated in the late summer and early autumn.

Summer, from May to September, is long, very hot and often muggy, with July and August the hottest months — average highs around 32°C and peaks reaching the high 30s or beyond, sometimes intensified by hot föhn-like winds descending from the Sierra Madre. Humidity from the Gulf can make the heat feel heavier, and the wettest weather comes toward the end of summer, when September — the peak of Gulf hurricane season — is the rainiest month.

Winter, from December to February, is short and mild, with January the coolest month — average highs around 20–22°C and cool nights near 9–10°C. The main disruption is the Norte, a cold wind sweeping down from the United States that can cause sudden, sharp temperature drops; during these cold spells nights can fall near or below freezing, and on rare occasions it has even snowed, as on Christmas Eve 2004.

Monterrey receives around 590–600 mm of rain a year, at an intermediate level, concentrated in the warmer months with a marked peak from May and again in September; January and February are very dry. Late-summer tropical systems from the Gulf of Mexico can deliver heavy, sometimes flooding rains, as when a hurricane's remnants devastated the area in 1988. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Monterrey's weather is shaped by its position between the Gulf, the northern deserts and the Sierra Madre: hot, semi-arid summers can be pushed higher still by dry mountain winds, while in winter the cold Norte wind off the North American plains brings abrupt chills to an otherwise mild season. Its proximity to the Gulf also leaves it exposed to the heavy rains and flooding of tropical storms in late summer and autumn.

To follow any single measurement in Monterrey 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.