Freezing temperatures and heavy rainfall across Mexico have arrived with the arrival of cold front number five, bringing sub-zero conditions to mountainous regions and pushing morning lows down to single digits in the capital.
The national weather service Comisión Nacional del Agua reported that the stationary front will maintain freezing conditions through the weekend across multiple states.
Saturday marked the coldest day for Mexico City, where 14 of the 16 mayoralties failed to clear 10 degrees Celsius. Cuajimalpa, Magdalena Contreras, and Tlalpan dropped as low as 6 degrees.
Morning forecasts for the capital show persistent cloud cover and mountain fog in the Valley of Mexico. Afternoon weather brings scattered showers between 5 and 25 millimeters accompanied by electrical storms.
Highs across the city range from 20 to 22 degrees Celsius. Northerly winds blow between 10 and 20 kilometers per hour with gusts reaching 40 kilometers per hour.
The weather system remains stationary over the central Gulf of Mexico and the country’s northeast. Interaction with a low-pressure channel drives heavier precipitation between 25 and 50 millimeters across northern Baja California, northeastern Coahuila, northern Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and northern Quintana Roo.
Chubascos are also hitting Sonora, Chihuahua, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, and Yucatán. Strong storms bring risks of hail, localized flooding, rising rivers, and mudslides.
High-altitude zones in Baja California, Chihuahua, Durango, Zacatecas, and the State of Mexico face morning lows ranging from -5 to 0 degrees Celsius. Mountainous areas in Sonora, Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Tlaxcala, Puebla, Veracruz, and Oaxaca record minimums between 0 and 5 degrees.
Coastal areas face strong winds and rough seas. Gusts reach 40 to 60 kilometers per hour in northwestern states, while waves along the western coast of Baja California peak at 5 meters.
While northern and central regions battle the cold, southern states maintain high temperatures. Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas peak between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius.
Will the cold front linger into next week?
Para el lunes 16, el frente frío 5 recibirá el refuerzo de una nueva masa de aire frío, lo que reactivará las lluvias muy fuertes en Puebla, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco y Quintana Roo.
Which areas face the lowest temperatures?
Mountainous zones in Baja California, Chihuahua, Durango, Zacatecas, and the State of Mexico drop to between -5 and 0 degrees Celsius during the early morning hours.
What hazards accompany the storms?
Forecasters warn of hail, wind gusts, water accumulation, river swelling, and potential mudslides in affected areas.
On Monday, November 16, the system will receive a reinforcing mass of cold air.