A hurricane novela, Episode 1

Every year around hurricane season I feel like I'm watching a novela, with all its suspense and drama. Boat people in Mexico routinely check in on the daily VHF radio net, and although we're currently dirt dwellers, the Capt and I listened in this morning for news of Jimena, the hurricane currently heading more or less our way.

Magdalena Bay on the Pacific coast of Baja, setting of the other San Carlos

For now, Jimena appears to be bound for Magdalena Bay, evolving into a Category 4 as she spins toward another small town named Puerto San Carlos, where folks seem to get more than their share of hurricane wipeouts each year. I can imagine they're a tough lot, ready for anything.

"Quick, Rodrigo! Bring more sandbags, or we'll lose the church!"


Mag Bay is a whale sanctuary, with one of the best beaches in Mexico nearby at Santa Maria. A beautiful place, but unlikely to ever become a year-round expat mecca because the hurricanes, like schoolyard bullies, come around every year to try to beat it back into the Stone Age.

Our San Carlos, on the other hand, is a passel of pusillanimous pansies, mainly because we never get a direct weather hit, only a little spanking with some rain, cool winds and extraordinary but harmless lightning. Then we're back to our normal broiling temps. Some of us might get around to taking down our awnings...

If Jimena sounds familiar, it's because she already skirted the lower mainland where our blogger bud Steve lives on the beach in Melaque, being a brave and romantic fellow and a newcomer to Mexico. She didn't show Steve much excitement, but she was just a young thing then. Now she's a big girl and ready to raise hell.

The AccuWeather map this morning — We are 20 minutes from Guaymas, marked with an X

Our weather guy this morning says Jimena might bring us 50-knot winds, if she crosses Baja and the Sea of Cortez to make landfall on the mainland. But a direct hit on San Carlos is very unlikely. Here's the latest image on AccuWeather, one of many online resources we watch at during hurricane season.

Close behind Jimena is tropical storm Kevin, which, depending on who's guessing, will either help push Jimena across Baja and into our region, or get himself knocked down by Jimena's wind shear.

Tune in tomorrow...