After days of watching weather sites and waiting for the arrival of Hurricane Ida, the people of Cancun have breathed a sigh of relief as the Yucatan Peninsula was left virtually untouched by the storm. Hurricane Ida passed through the Yucatan channel on Sunday November 8, 2009, coming closest to Cancun around midday. While Friday and Saturday the city was drenched with rain and the streets were flooded, Sunday was a very quiet day. Very little rain and no wind to speak of. With a category 2 hurricane passing by, this was quite an odd phenomenon, one that meteorologists claim was the result of a very tightly wrapped weather system. Local authorities were prepared for the worst, refugee centers were ready for any evacuees and the civil protection agency was out in force, blocking access to the beach because of the high waves and encouraging people to stay home. If Hurricane Ida had been worse, the city was prepared to protect both the citizens of Cancun and the tourists in the area. Whatever the reason for the peace we are grateful that Ida did not exert her full force upon us.

Carlos n Charlies Sunday Afternoon- Adios Ida!

Monday has dawned fresh and sunny, the heat is back and life returns to normal. Reports from the hotel zone indicate that the waves created by Ida have had a limited impact on the beach recovery project that started last week, taking some sand but not destroying the work completely. Tourists are relaxing on loungers and entertainment teams are rounding people up for tequila volleyball. Tour operations are running, bartenders are mixing and sun burns are in the making, all is well in our little corner of paradise. Hopefully this will be the end of the 2009 hurricane season and we won’t have to do a storm report until next year. Or the year after, that would be even better.

The end of the 2009 hurricane season is drawing near (officially hurricane season ends November 30th) and the Atlantic has seen very little storm activity. Cancun and the Riviera Maya have been unaffected by serious storms in 2009 and have had a relatively dry season. Of course, one can never count one’s chickens before they hatch, while many in the region had breathed a sigh of relief over the quiet year, we’re in storm watch now as Tropical Depression Ida makes her way across Nicaragua and Honduras, heading north towards the Yucatan Peninsula.

photo courtesy the National Hurricane Center

On Thursday November 5th, Ida became a category 1 hurricane as it hit Nicaragua with heavy rains and winds of 75 mph/125 kph, inflicting serious damage on the communities in its path.  The storm weakened over land, dropping in status to a tropical storm, then later to a tropical depression.  Today Ida is expected to cross Honduras and enter the Caribbean Sea, on a north-northwest path that will likely bring her over the Yucatan Peninsula over the weekend and into Monday.  Forecasts give Ida a 49% chance of increasing intensity over the sea before reaching Cancun and the Riviera Maya.

Officials in Quintana Roo have issued low-level alerts to the population, advising people to prepare for heavy rain and winds, but have not issued any serious bulletins for hurricane watches.  The Civil Protection agency closely monitors ongoing storms and will raise the alerts if the state is at greater risk from a strengthening Ida.  The authorities, businesses and people of Quintana Roo are well prepared to deal with any weather emergency and while it is unlikely, if Ida presents a danger to tourists in the area, necessary steps will be taken to ensure maximum safety.

It does not appear that Ida offers any great threat to the region, though we will certainly see some inclement weather over the weekend.  It has been raining in the region for the last few days and that is expected to continue at least through Monday.  Of course, storms are predictable only in their unpredictability, many factors can affect the path and intensity of a storm over only a few short hours. There is always the chance that the storm could dissipate or conversely, increase in strength over the Caribbean Sea.

To monitor Ida’s movements, please visit the National Hurricane Center or Stormpulse for the latest news.