Hurricane Season in Cabo: What Travelers Should Know

We live here, and we plan our own year around this season too. This guide explains how the official system works, so you know where to look and what to do. For what's happening this week, read our live Cabo weather and hurricane update.

We are not meteorologists. For forecasts, follow the National Hurricane Center and Mexico's SMN.

When is hurricane season in Cabo?

According to the National Hurricane Center, "The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 to November 30." The Atlantic season starts later, on June 1, so if you've read "June to November" somewhere, that's the Atlantic calendar.

NHC also notes that for the eastern Pacific, "A peak in activity is noted in late August," and that activity tends to be spread out, "with most tropical cyclones occurring between late June and early October." That describes the whole basin, which NHC says "extends from Mexico and Central America westward to 140°W," so a storm in the basin is not the same thing as a storm near Cabo.

From living here: even in the heart of the season, most of our days are the blue-sky kind. Our complete Cabo weather guide covers what each month feels like.

How storm alerts work

The National Hurricane Center issues public advisories on each active eastern Pacific storm, with a summary, the watches and warnings in effect, and the hazards affecting land. You can read them on the NHC Eastern Pacific page. Two terms matter most, from the NHC glossary:

• A watch means storm conditions are "possible" within the area. For a tropical storm watch, that's within 48 hours.
• A warning means storm conditions are "expected" within the area. For a tropical storm warning, that's within 36 hours.

For Mexico, the watches and warnings in those advisories are set by the government of Mexico. NHC's advisories say it directly, for example Polo Advisory 37 (29 Sep 2026): "The government of Mexico has discontinued all coastal warnings and watches."

Mexico's Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) publishes its own tropical cyclone notices and daily forecasts in Spanish.

SIAT-CT is Mexico's early warning system for tropical cyclones, run by civil protection. Its official manual uses five colors, labelled like this for a storm coming closer: Azul (blue, aviso), Verde (green, prevención), Amarilla (yellow, preparación), Naranja (orange, alarma) and Roja (red, afectación). You can see bulletins on the SIAT-CT site.

Locally, the Los Cabos government posts notices for our municipality, such as beach closures with black flags, and Protección Civil posts storm monitoring updates there. The port captain decides when the port closes to small boats.

What to pack and plan

• Keep your plans flexible on water days. Put the boat day or snorkel trip early in your stay, so there's room to move it.
• Pack light rain gear and sandals that can get wet.
• Respect beach flags. Storms far away can still send big swells and rip currents to our coast. NHC advisories list this under "SURF."

Travel insurance, in general terms

Every policy is different, so before you buy, read what counts as a covered reason and whether a storm that already has a name is excluded. We don't sell insurance, and our travel insurance guide covers the basics.

How we handle rescheduling

For boats, fishing, adventures and transfers booked with us, our weather policy is: "If we or the captain cancel for weather or safety reasons, you receive a full refund or a free reschedule, no matter the timing."

If you'd rather change plans yourself, our standard tiers apply: 7 or more days before, 100% refund; 72 hours to 7 days before, 50% refund; less than 72 hours before, no refund. Resort stays follow the hotel's own cancellation policy, shown on your rate at checkout. For villas, send us your booking reference and we help you with the property.

Message our concierge on WhatsApp with your booking reference, and we help you with the next step. If your trip is in the next two weeks, use our simple checklist.