August Overview –
Wow… this month just flew by! August started out with rolling power outages, then Tropical Storm Eugene made an appearance the very day Lorne was leaving for Ann Arbor, Hurricane Hilary (Cat 4) suddenly showed up a week after he was back, and we celebrated my birthday by trying to prepare my birthday cake in 36C / 97F temperatures while the frosting kept melting. We ended up spending the last week of August just catching our breath again.
We are now well into hurricane season with one tropical storm and one hurricane under our belt this month. September is usually active for hurricanes in our area, as the waters have warmed up sufficiently and as hurricanes get their energy from warm water, more hurricanes travel north into our area during the month of September. So, we have another month to go to watch for major hurricanes, and since it has been a much hotter summer this year (thank you very much, El Niño) we may get a few tropical storms into October as well.
To keep our minds off of possible upcoming hurricanes, we have been spending time thinking about how we want to update our patio this year. We are hoping by the end of October we will be able to bring our patio back to life so we can enjoy the fresh air and ocean breezes outside once again. We are thinking of expanding the “conversation” area with some additional deck tiles and possibly adding a love seat to go with the chairs we already have. And of course, some new décor is always needed. Our Amazon cart currently has between 25 – 30 items in it while I build a “vision board” within the cart itself.. LOL! Needless to say, we will be so excited when patio season finally arrives again.
August was actually hotter than July, but with Tropical Storm Eugene and Hurricane Hilary coming through, our temperatures decreased for a couple of days (which of course was such a welcome reprieve) and lowered our average temperatures for the month.
We did have 20 days in August with temperatures over 35C / 95F, and the hotter temperatures combined with higher humidity, pushed our “feels like” temperatures even higher. We had 13 days in August with “feels like” temperatures over 50C / 122F. Thank God for AC!!
And now, here’s what’s been happening around here in August….
Power Outages
Late in July, the CFE (Federal Electricity Commission) issued a statement alerting Los Cabos and all of Baja California Sur to expect rolling power outages until at least August 20. This was due to a very hot summer with extreme temperatures resulting in more people turning on their AC units to cool down. And more people using their AC units pushed the power grid well beyond what it could provide, causing constant blackouts. They advised it would take approximately three weeks to install new expansion units into the main grid and to have them up and running.
Meanwhile, to remedy the strain on the grid, the CFE began planned power outages that would last for approximately 30 minutes, rotating the outages throughout different neighbourhoods on different days. There was no set schedule, no rhyme or reason and we were never advised of when they would be. The power just went off and approximately 30 minutes later it would come back on.
In our area, the power went out on the following days:
Jul 28 – 8pm
Jul 31 – 12pm
Aug 2 – 11pm
Aug 4 – 5pm and 11pm and 3am
Aug 5 – 10pm
Sometimes it went out right after dinner, sometimes just before bed, or right when we were about to make lunch or dinner. We didn’t mind so much the power going out (after all we have a generator on the roof to keep us going) but it started driving us crazy the randomness of it all.
Then, beginning August 6, there were no more outages in our area, or in all of Los Cabos. We saw that there were still rolling outages elsewhere in the state but seemed to have stopped here.
A few days later, someone posted on one of the Facebook expat groups asking if anyone knew what the loud noise was coming from the CFE substation next to their local community. It turned out that in 2014, during the aftermath of Hurricane Odile (Cat 4), four turbine-jet-engine-driven backup generators were bought and installed at that power station, as over 95% of the state was without power for two weeks after that storm. These generators were the saving grace for Los Cabos both then and now, as in order to help ease the current burden on the grid the CFE powered these puppies up, which ended the rolling power outages for Los Cabos.
As promised by the CFE, by August 20 the new expansion units were installed into the main grid to strengthen the service and provide the necessary additional power now needed during extreme temperatures of summer throughout the entire state.
And the four turbine-jet-engine-driven backup generators in Los Cabos were turned off once again, with all of Los Cabos still grateful they are still there in case of any emergency.
Tropical Storm Eugene
On August 2, a low pressure formed off the coast of Guatemala and on August 5 developed into a Tropical Depression moving northwestward towards the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. The system quickly strengthened and six hours later was named Tropical Storm Eugene.
As Tropical Storm Eugene continued his path northward, his sustained winds reached 70mph (110kmh).
We were not totally sure how strong Eugene would become or how close to Los Cabos he would get, and normally we would not worry so much over a tropical storm. However, the day Eugene was passing by Los Cabos (August 6) was the day Lorne was flying to Ann Arbor. The potential for flooded roads and flight delays quickly became a concern.
However, as Eugene reached the cooler waters west of the Baja peninsula, he started to deteriorate, and thunderstorm activity ceased. The storm was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone on August 7.
Ann Arbor
On August 6, Lorne headed out to spend a week with his co-workers at printIQ‘s North America head office in Ann Arbor MI. This has become an annual event, one that they all look forward to. This year, Lorne’s trip was quite eventful and to make sure I don’t miss any details, we will let Lorne tell the story of his great adventure himself:
The route seemed simple enough… Fly from San Jose del Cabo to Atlanta GA, then Atlanta to Detroit MI, then Uber to Ann Arbor. But even though it was all planned out well in advance, nothing ever goes completely as planned.
The first issue was Tropical Storm Eugene, tracking very close to Los Cabos on departure day. Fortunately we just caught the outer edge of the storm, which made flying out of SJC only slightly bumpy on the way up. All was going smoothly for the majority of the flight.
Then about 40 minutes out from ATL came major turbulence – the kind where seatbelt signs go on, flight attendants stop attending, and sudden deep drops that feel like the downhill track on a roller coaster. It smoothed out just before landing at ATL and all seemed well. Then there was lightning – striking the ground – which prompted the airport to order all of their outside ground crew indoors, and all aircraft to stop and remain where they are with engines off. After waiting for the all-clear, we finally deboarded the plane 1h38m after landing.
Next up was the connecting flight to Detroit. It was boarding late – which worked out okay since the first leg flight was so late getting to its gate. We managed to board at 10:20pm. Then more waiting. As it turns out, there was more lightning after the first flight made it to its gate, further prompting all outside activities to stop. The pilots for my flight to Detroit had just arrived in another aircraft, and they were stuck out on the tarmac waiting for the latest lightning to stop and the backlog of planes to be assigned gates. Finally after 3h22m of waiting on the plane, the flight to Detroit pushed back from its gate.
My original planned arrival time at Detroit was supposed to be 11:22pm on Sunday Aug 6. With all the delays, the actual arrival time ended up being 3:22am Monday Aug 7. The pre-reserved Uber driver waited the 4 extra hours to pick me up, and I finally got to the Ann Arbor hotel around 5:00am – just enough time for a couple hours of power-nap before heading into the office for 9:00am.
Being with the North America team for a week was both fun and productive, with lots of collaboration, meetings, dinners, and a fun team event… everyone went out to Comerica Park to have dinner and watch the Detroit Tigers play the Minnesota Twins.
The flight home was originally planned to be all in one day Friday Aug 11. But after all the trouble getting there, this was re-planned to fly Detroit to Atlanta on Thursday evening, then Atlanta to Los Cabos on Friday. This turned out to be a very smart move! Atlanta airport was still catching up from all the delayed and cancelled flights from the storms the previous weekend. The original same-day itinerary would not have made the connection in time – but the split-day itinerary made it all much smoother, and I arrived happy to be back home without any issues.
Hurricane Hilary
On August 12, an area of low pressure developed off the south coast of Mexico near Guatemala. The following day, the disturbance gradually became better organized and on August 16, had grown into a tropical storm and was named Hilary.
Hilary strengthened into a Cat 1 hurricane on August 17 and proceeded to move northwest. Within 24 hours she rapidly intensified and on August 18 became a Cat 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 145mph (230kmh)
Hilary moved slightly more west , so we knew we would not be getting the direct hit, but we knew we would still feel her and a tropical storm warning was issued for Los Cabos. In the Facebook group Canadians in Cabo, they said “Although we won’t be a direct hit, it will rain like you’ve never seen it rain – even Vancouverites will be impressed”. Even though it was only a tropical storm warning, we went through our hurricane preparation checklist anyway, because these storms can change direction in a second, so we always prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
Our power went off twice during the night due to the high winds, but our generator kicked in perfectly as needed. We woke up the morning of August 19 to the winds howling as Hurricane Hilary was passing by. We spent the better part of the day listening to the wind shaking our shutters and the rain as it pelted against windows. We passed the time playing canasta, in the office, in the AC.
By 4pm, the winds had died down as Hilary had moved further north and we were able to open our hurricane shutters and let some fresh air in.
Satellite image of Hurricane Hilary (Cat 4) passing just west of Cabo San Lucas early on August 19.
A low-pressure system near the California coast combined with a ridge of high pressure off the central United States drew Hilary north-northwestward on August 19. The west side of the storm was being met with dry and stable air which caused Hilary to weaken to Cat 3 strength with winds of 125mph (205kmh). By the end of the day, Hilary had fallen to a Cat 1 hurricane because of the cooler waters and drier air.
After weakening to a tropical storm, Hilary made landfall on August 20 in northern Baja California 215mi/345km south of San Diego. The storm continued to move north northwestward and crossed into California six hours later, south of Palm Springs. On August 21, while moving over southern California and Nevada, Hilary downgraded into a post-tropical cyclone.
Two fatalities were linked to Hurricane Hilary, and both fatalities resulted from a driver and vehicle being washed away by floodwaters. The first took place in the Mexican state of Sinaloa on August 18, the second in the Mexican state of Baja California on August 20.
The torrential rainfall and gusty winds brought by Hurricane Hilary left behind flooded roads and mudslides in the Baja California peninsula as well as in Southern California. Thankfully, the overall impact on the region was less severe than anticipated.
And here’s an interesting tidbit of trivia – storm names repeat every 6 years, and 30 years ago in 1993 a previous Hurricane Hilary travelled nearly the same path as our 2023 Hurricane Hilary did.
The 1993 Hurricane Hilary formed as a tropical storm on August 17 and grew into a hurricane August 19 and eventually intensified into a Cat 3 major hurricane. She also resulted in heavy rains leaving behind flooded roads and mudslides in Baja California and, as well, she travelled far enough north to bring localized downpours and flash flooding to California and Arizona.
It’s just so weird to have history repeat itself with a major hurricane of the same name, close to the same path and nearly the same day.
ps… Don’t forget to check out the latest Snippets!
