Merida Mexico Weather Month by Month
Mérida is hot all year and wet for half of it, and both of those change what your day out is worth. Every figure below is the official climatological normal for the city's own weather station, so you can plan against it rather than against a forecast written last week.
What the weather does to a visit here
Three things follow from the numbers, and each one changes what you book. Treat the archaeological sites as a morning job from April to September. There is almost no shade at Chichén Itzá or Uxmal, and the daily maximum sits between 34 and 37 °C. Ignore all of that for the cenotes. The water is underground and the air in a cavern does not follow the surface, so you can swim in May as comfortably as in January. Expect the rain in the afternoon rather than all day, which means a wet month costs you half your day and not the whole of it.
The fourth consequence is seasonal rather than daily: the flamingos at Celestún peak in the dry months, so the best weather and the best wildlife happen to coincide. The best time to visit works that through in detail.
Merida Mexico month by month
January
Average daily maximum 30.3 °C, average minimum 17.4 °C, mean 23.8 °C. Rainfall averages 30.4 mm across about 5 wet days. Peak flamingo numbers at Celestún, and the best walking weather of the year.
February
Average daily maximum 32.0 °C, average minimum 18.2 °C, mean 25.1 °C. Rainfall averages 26.0 mm across about 4 wet days. Carnaval falls here in most years, and the birds are still in.
March
Average daily maximum 34.0 °C, average minimum 19.3 °C, mean 26.6 °C. Rainfall averages 24.6 mm across about 4 wet days. The driest month, and the equinox operation runs at Chichén Itzá from the 20th.
April
Average daily maximum 36.2 °C, average minimum 21.3 °C, mean 28.7 °C. Rainfall averages 29.9 mm across about 3 wet days. The last comfortable month for a full day at a ruin. Book the early departures.
May
Average daily maximum 37.3 °C, average minimum 23.0 °C, mean 30.2 °C. Rainfall averages 65.0 mm across about 6 wet days. Do the cenotes and leave the pyramids for an early start or another trip.
June
Average daily maximum 35.7 °C, average minimum 23.5 °C, mean 29.6 °C. Rainfall averages 159.2 mm across about 13 wet days. The rains open and so does hurricane season. Mornings still work.
July
Average daily maximum 35.0 °C, average minimum 22.9 °C, mean 28.9 °C. Rainfall averages 149.9 mm across about 16 wet days. Wet afternoons, empty sites and softer prices. Plan the ruins for the morning.
August
Average daily maximum 34.9 °C, average minimum 22.8 °C, mean 28.9 °C. Rainfall averages 154.0 mm across about 15 wet days. Flamingo numbers at their lowest. Book Celestún for the mangroves, not the birds.
September
Average daily maximum 34.1 °C, average minimum 22.7 °C, mean 28.4 °C. Rainfall averages 163.1 mm across about 16 wet days. The wettest month of the year and the peak of hurricane risk. Keep the schedule loose.
October
Average daily maximum 32.8 °C, average minimum 21.5 °C, mean 27.1 °C. Rainfall averages 98.8 mm across about 10 wet days. Rain easing through the month, and Hanal Pixán at the end of it.
November
Average daily maximum 31.4 °C, average minimum 19.5 °C, mean 25.5 °C. Rainfall averages 46.5 mm across about 6 wet days. Hurricane season closes, the flamingos return, and the dry season starts.
December
Average daily maximum 30.2 °C, average minimum 18.1 °C, mean 24.1 °C. Rainfall averages 34.7 mm across about 5 wet days. Cool, dry and busy from the third week. The best all-round month here.
The seasons, and which one you want
Dry season, November to April. Under 50 mm of rain a month, daily maxima from 30.2 to 36.2 °C, and fewer than seven wet days. If you want the ruins, the long days outdoors and the flamingos, this is your season.
Wet season, May to October. May is the pivot: hottest month of the year at 37.3 °C and still nearly dry at 65 mm. June through September then run 150 to 163 mm each, across 13 to 16 wet days. This is the season for cenotes, for empty sites and for lower prices.
The annual figures put the whole thing in one line: 33.7 °C average maximum, 982.1 mm of rain, 101.6 wet days.
Best time of day
Out of the city, aim to be at the gate when it opens at 08:00. The temperature climbs fastest between nine and one, so when your operator leaves Mérida before 07:00 it is buying you the cool part of the day as much as the empty part of the site. You will notice the difference within an hour of arriving.
In the city, walk before ten and after five. Give the middle of the day to the markets, the museums and a long lunch. The free evening programme starts at 20:00 or 21:00, once it has cooled off, and that is when you will want to be back out on the plazas.
Frequently asked questions
When does it rain?
What should I wear to a cenote?
What is Yucatecan food?
How early do the day trips leave Merida Mexico?
Where the figures come from
Every temperature and rainfall figure above is the CONAGUA / Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, climatological normals 1981–2010, station 31044 Mérida (Obs). The station sits at 20.95 °N, 89.65 °W, 11 m above sea level. Record extremes at the same station: 43.5 °C on 27 May 2009, and 5.0 °C on 14 February 2006.
The weather decides the month; the day is a separate question, and guided tours in Merida sets out every one of them with its length and its start time. If you are choosing between the morning and the afternoon for a specific trip, the distances page shows how much of it is driving.
Or start from the list: Merida Mexico Tours has every day out of the city in one place, with its price and what the fare covers.