The Effects of Hurricanes In Cabo San Lucas, Los Cabos, San Jose del Cabo, & The Southern Baja

Text Box: Hurricane Norbert Makes Landfall in the Southern Baja October, 2008 Hurricane Norbert struck Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Saturday October 11th of 2008 with torrential rains and winds of up to 135 mph (Category 4). Strong winds bent palm trees along coastal areas. Some streets were in knee-deep water in the town of Puerto San Carlos. Norbert was ripping off roofs, knocking down trees and left one person missing and more than 20,000 homes without electricity, local authorities say. Some 2,850 people were housed in temporary shelters. Forty percent of homes were destroyed or damaged on the islands of Margarita and Magdalena, mainly having lost their roofs, said a report from state protection services. La Paz international airport suspended its activities at midday local time Saturday, but the tourist resort of Los Cabos remained cautiously open. Norbert was the strongest hurricane to affect the western side of the Baja Peninsula. Norbert was also the strongest October hurricane since 2002's Kenna, with 140 mph winds. _____________________________________________________________________
Norbert Now a Powerful Hurricane, Headed to Baja October 9,2008
Seeing such a large and well-defined eye on the false-colored satellite image of Hurricane Norbert is enough to send shivers down your spine. That's an indication of a well-developed and very powerful storm, and that's what Hurricane Norbert is on Thursday, October 9, 2008. Late Wednesday, at 11:00 p.m. EDT, Norbert reached category four hurricane status on the Saffir-Simpson scale, when its sustained winds were measured at 135 mph. By 5:00 a.m. EDT on Oct. 10, Hurricane Norbert's winds decreased a little to 125 mph making it a dangerous category three hurricane. However, the National Hurricane Center warns that storms of this power fluctuate in intensity.
At 5 a.m. Oct. 10, Norbert was moving northwestward near 7 mph in the open waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean. Norbert was about 410 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. That's near latitude 17.5 degrees north and longitude 112.5 degrees west. Minimum central pressure was 954 millibars.
Norbert is a bigger storm than last week's Tropical Storm Marco that made landfall in east central Mexico. Norbert's tropical storm force winds extend up to 140 miles from its center. credit: www.nasa.gov

Credit: National Hurricane Center Graphics Archive

Chart Courtesy of National Hurricane Center Hurricane Archive www.nhc.noaa.gov

2003 Hurricane Season - Eastern Pacific

Text Box: Hurricanes in Brief Hurricanes are giant, spiraling tropical storms that can pack wind speeds of over 160 miles (257 kilometers) and hour and unleash more than 2.4 trillion gallons (9 trillion liters) of rain per day. These same tropical storms are known as cyclones in the northern Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, and as typhoons in the western Pacific Ocean Hurricanes begin as tropical disturbances in warm ocean wate3rs with surface temperatures of at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.5 degrees Celsius). These low pressure systems are fed by energy from the warm seas. If a storm achieves wind speeds of 38 miles (61 kilometers) and hour, it becomes known as a tropical depression. A tropical depression becomes a tropical storm, and is given a name, when its sustained wind speeds top 39 miles (63 kilometers) an hour. When a storm’s sustained wind speeds reach 74 miles (119 kilometers) and hour, it becomes a hurricane and earns a category rating of 1 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. See our links page for Saffir-Simpson scale. Hurricanes are enormous heat engines that generate energy on a staggering scale. They draw heat from warm, moist ocean air and release it through condensation of water vapor in thunderstorms. Hurricanes spin around a low-pressure center known as the “eye.” Sinking air makes this 20 to 30 mile-wide area notoriously calm. The eye is surrounded by a circular “eye wall” that hosts the storm’s strongest winds and rain. These storms bring destruction ashore in many different ways. When a hurricane makes landfall it often produces a devastating storm surge that can reach 20 feet (6 meters) high and extend nearly 100 miles (161 kilometers). A hurricane’s high winds are also destructive and may spawn tornadoes. Torrential rains cause further damage by spawning floods and landslides, which may occur many miles inland. The best defense against a hurricane is an accurate forecast that gives people time to get out of its way. The National Hurricane Center issues hurricane watches for storms that may endanger communities, and hurricane warnings for storms that will make landfall within 24 hours. Credit: National Geographic • nationalgeographic.com The biggest cause of damage in the Southern Baja is wind flown debris from high winds and tornadoes that are spun off of the eye wall. Scientific and geological reports generally only report winds in relation to the eye wall, but rarely report wind speeds from tornadoes that result from hurricanes. This is the reasoning for such drastic damage from Hurricane John in 2006 that literally sand blasted the paint off of cars and homes and wreaked havoc up the coast from Zacatitos to Mulege. There were unofficial reports of 200 mph + wind speeds on the East Cape.

$Text Box: The hurricane tracking chart below is courtesy of the National Hurricane Center Archive. The 2003 season delivered 8 named storms for the Eastern Pacific with 2 impacts on Los Cabos; Hurricane Ignacio in the third week of August and Hurricane Marty in mid September. Both had damaged or destroyed a combined 5,600 homes in their path from reports of the local government. Both were category 2 hurricanes at land fall. There were very few hurricane shutters in place back then and homeowners paid the price. A marginal labor force migrated from main land Mexico and swarmed over our Southern Baja to repair the damage. Many homeowners had to take what they could in the available labor due to the shortage of a skilled labor force. The labor that was available presented escalated prices because they felt like they had the client in a desperate situation. Those who didn’t get in on the first round of work had to wait or find themselves doing the work themselves. These persons were those who lived in the States and could not get into Los Cabos quick enough to assess the damage. Many homeowners we have spoken to over the years since have stated that they won’t put themselves in that situation again and are gladly giving us the opportunity to install our hurricane shutters on their homes for a fraction of the cost of the repairs that were needed back then. Some had even mentioned that they were unaware of the effects of hurricanes here and had no idea that our area was vulnerable to such hurricanes. The next time a hurricane season like 2003 decides to stir around off the coast of our resort town, ensure your home is protected with hurricane shutters by Advanced Hurricane Solutions. Even if you are covered by a home owner policy, there are some contents in your home that are irreplaceable. Going through the hassle, head aches, and anxiety of choosing a company that can restore the interior of your home to its original condition is not a great experience for anyone. Your time is more valuable and productive in what you do from day to day whether it is just enjoying your time at your home, relaxing on the beaches of Los Cabos, or making a living at your job here. Adding hurricane shutters to your home not only increases the value of your property, it gives you a peace of mind in knowing that your investment is protected against the hurricanes here in the Southern Baja.$ Text Box:

Text Box: 2008’s Hurricane Norbert and more notable past hurricanes such as Juliette, John, Henriette, Marty, and Ignacio are a few of the 100’s of hurricanes and tropical storms that have either made landfall on the Southern Baja or have passed within 150 miles of our resort town. Baja California’s hurricane season officially begins on May 15th and continues through the end of November. History shows that the peak of the season is September and October. Los Cabos is considered a High Velocity Hurricane Zone since we are subject to all categories of hurricanes. Choosing hurricane shutters for your investment is just as important as the company you choose to perform the work. With your choice in Advanced Hurricane Solutions, you are choosing among the best hurricane shutters available in their class as well as ensuring that your shutters will perform properly since we use all approved hardware, inspect every installation, and follow through to the final delivery and of your successfully completed project. We take the confusion and stress factor out of the equation with regards to choosing the proper hurricane shutters for your residence. Through our thorough assessment of your structure and our expert knowledge in the hurricane shutter industry, we will recommend which hurricane shutters are best for your residence or business. Advanced Hurricane Solutions looks forward to protecting you, your family, and your investment!

Text Box: The Hurricane Tracking Charts below are courtesy of the NOAA Coastal Services Center. The show the recorded paths of registered hurricanes and tropical storms that have effected the Baja Peninsula. As you can see, September presents the peak of the storm activity with July as the lowest storm activity. The latter parts of August through mid October present the higher water temperatures and humidity levels in the Southern Baja region. The water off our coast present temperatures in excess of 80° (degrees) and humidity levels in excess of 90%. These are the two key ingredients to the frequency of hurricane and tropical storms off the coast of the Southern Baja. At Advanced Hurricane Solutions, we study only the basics with regards to weather patterns here. There are many Web sites available that can fully explain the scientific approach to the occurances of hurricanes here in the Baja. Our related links page provides links to detailed scientific data based websites for your information

7 Hurricanes

1 Tropical Storm