Nortes and cold fronts in Mexico
From autumn to spring, the cold fronts sweeping down from North America bring the nortes: spells of strong northerly wind, falling temperatures and rain.
Where they hit hardest
The Gulf of Mexico and the southeast — Veracruz, Tabasco, Tamaulipas and the Yucatán Peninsula — feel the nortes with intense gusts that disrupt shipping and port activity.
How to anticipate them
Watch the wind direction and speed and the temperature trend in the forecast: the arrival of a cold front means northerly wind, a temperature drop and possible rain over one or several days.