Yucatán 2021 could end with the 3rd-hottest December on record

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After several weeks of refreshingly cool weather, the more recent warming trend will continue this week, adding up to a historically hot December.

Meteored.mx forecaster Juan Antonio Palma Solís said 2021 will conclude with Yucatán’s third-warmest December on record.

“Our Yucatecan winter is as if we were in summer,” he said.

Rain is also possible due to the entry of warm and humid air coming from the Caribbean. But the cold fronts we rely on for cool Christmases are not in the forecast.

December weather is what Yucatecos wait for after April and May heatwaves which are followed by a rainy season that lasts into November. It’s also a high season for tourists.

“Yucatan does not have winters like Canada or the United States, but the temperature does (normally) drop in December,” said the Mérida-based meteorologist, who has over 53,000 followers on Twitter.

So this week’s humid 90-degree weather, after weeks of highs that stayed largely in the low 80s, is a bit of a surprise.

Palma Solís explained that an atmospheric pattern has dominated the peninsular region since the beginning of the month. That pattern prevents typical cold fronts or polar air masses, he said.

However, some scattered rains and storms could occur due to the entry of tropical maritime air in combination with daytime warming and instability at higher levels, he told Diario de Yucatán.

“So far, it is still likely that the current warm period will extend until Christmas, although some predictions also indicate that from the third week of this month cold fronts will begin to approach the Gulf of Mexico,” he said. “It is recommended to be aware of updates during the week.”

The only hotter Decembers since record-keeping began in 1971 were in 2015 and 2016.

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