Mexico's cold front is set to continue today throughout vast areas of the country, with sub-zero temperatures and winds in excess of 90km/hr (55mi/hr) expected in some important fruit-growing areas. 

In an update released today (Jan. 17), Mexico’s National Meteorology Service (SMN) forecast "very cold to freezing" weather in northern, northeastern, eastern and central regions.

The organization also said snow and sleet were likely in the mountainous areas of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Puebla and Veracruz.

Minimum temperatures lower than -5°C (23°F) are anticipated in hilly areas of  Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí and Mexico State.

Meanwhile, forecasts of between zero and -5°C (23°-32°F) have been made for Baja California, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Queretaro, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Puebla, Tlaxcala and Mexico City, and 0-5°C (32-41°F) in higher altitude areas of Morelos, Oaxaca and Chiapas.

Winds of at least 90km/hr are expected in the Isthmus and the Gulf of Tehuantepec, 80km/hr (50mi/hr) on the coasts of Veracruz and Tabasco, 60 km/hr (37mi/hr) on the coasts of Tamaulipas and the Yucatan Peninsula, and 50 km/hr (31mi/hr) in Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, Querétaro, Hidalgo and Puebla.

The SMN also said heavy storms were expected in certain areas of Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco, along with rains in Tamaulipas, Puebla, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.

"These conditions will be generated by Cold Front Number 23, which will be extended with seasonal characteristics in the southwest of the Gulf of Mexico and the southeast of Mexico, and its polar air mass," the entity said in the report.

By contrast, some areas along the country's Pacific coast, like Colima, are expected to receive warm temperatures in excess of 30°C (86°F).

Some major fruit-growing states set to be affected by the cold front - such as Baja California, a large berry-producing state, Veracruz, one of the country's biggest lime-growing areas - but it is unclear what the effects on production may be.

Mexico is one of the world’s leaders in fruit and vegetable exports, staking its place in fifth and third position globally in 2016 with a total value of US$12.1 billion, according to UN Comtrade statistics. 

Video (in Spanish) of today's weather forecast by the SMN:

Image: SMN 

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