A massive cold front that dropped temperatures in parts of Mexico to -10° Celsius has moved toward the Caribbean Sea on Thursday, prompting the National Meteorological Service (SMN) to predict better weather for much of the country.

SMN said the departure of cold front number 9 could lead to Thursday highs of 35° C to 40° C in 13 states: Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, Oaxaca (coast), Chiapas (coast), Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.

Chihuahua (southwest), Durango (west), Morelos, Puebla (southwest) and Tabasco are predicted temperatures in the range of 30° C to 35° C.

However, because one cold front is being replaced by another one — or maybe even two — there could be frost and temperatures down to -5° C to 0° C in the mountains of Chihuahua and Durango over the next few days. Many other areas in the northern and highland regions of Mexico may also experience lows from 0° C to 5° C.

The departure of cold front number 9 led to a decrease in rain across Mexico, although the National Water Commission (Conagua) did issue a Thursday morning prediction of heavy rains in Sonora, Oaxaca, Baja California and Chiapas due to a subtropical jet stream and instability at high levels of the atmosphere.

Isolated showers and rains were expected in Baja California Sur, Michoacán, Guerrero, Puebla, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Colima, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.

In all cases, the SMN warned that thunderstorms and hail were possibilities.

This winter, according to Conagua, Mexico will experience 56 cold fronts — banks of cold air that move down from Canada and the United States — causing temperatures to drop and precipitation to increase across the country. 

Conagua predicted that five of these winter storms will hit Mexico in November, with eight more coming in December.

Cold fronts numbers 10 and 11 are said to be on their way to the northern part of the country, with authorities warning that each “will take a toll” on Mexico.

Cold front number 10 will begin to be felt on Friday. The next day, lows down to -5 °C could be experienced in some northern states.

With reports from Infobae and Medio Tiempo