The North American country of Mexico regularly experiences tropical cyclones from both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Tropical cyclones that produce maximum sustained winds of more than 119 kilometre per hour (74 mph) are designated as hurricanes, which can produce deadly and damaging effects, particularly where they make landfall, or move ashore. Hurricane strength have been ranked using the Saffir-Simpson scale since 1972, from a minimal hurricane as a Category 1 to the most powerful as a Category 5. The most recent Category 5 hurricane to hit Mexico was Hurricane Otis in 2023, which was also the costliest Mexican hurricane.
From 1951 to 2000, Pacific hurricanes most frequently struck the northwestern Mexican states Baja California Sur or Sinaloa, as well as Michoacán in southern Mexico. Atlantic hurricanes during the same period were most likely to hit Quintana Roo along the eastern Yucatán peninsula and Veracruz along the Bay of Campeche. Along both coasts, the month with the most landfalls was September, although they can occur as early as May.
The category listed for each state indicates the maximum category of sustained winds that were recorded or analyzed to have occurred in that state. It is not necessarily the category of the storm at the time of landfall or closest approach (if the strongest winds were occurring elsewhere or only over water at the time).