Riviera Maya, Q.R. — A fog bank warning has been issued for Monday morning by State Civil Protection. Fog is affecting traffic due to the overnight arrival of cold air. The agency has also issued a weather advisory for strong winds, heavy rain and cool temperatures.
Coordinación Estatal de Protección Civil says fog will affect highway driving in the municipalities of Lázaro Cárdenas, Isla Mujeres, Benito Juárez, Puerto Morelos, Solidaridad, Tulum, Felipe Carrillo Puerto and José María Morelos for around three hours.
The fog is the result of the overnight arrival of cold air from front no. 28 that extends over the Gulf of Mexico. Heavy rains and strong winds are also expected later in the day due to the front.
“Front No. 28, in combination with a low pressure channel over the Yucatan Peninsula and the entry of humidity from the Gulf and the Caribbean Sea, will cause heavy rains in Yucatan and Quintana Roo, and intervals of showers in Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco and Campeche,” Mexico’s Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) reported Monday.
Intervals of showers with occasional heavy rain of between 25 to 50 mms is forecast for Yucatan and Quintana Roo. The reinforcement of a new cold air mass from front 28 will move over the Yucatan Peninsula during Monday, February 24.
Winds from the north and northwest with gusts of 40 to 60 kms/h are also expected mainly on the northern coasts of the state during Monday, February 24 and Tuesday, February 25, the agency said.
Local meteorologists say “cool to cold temperatures in the early morning and at dawn are likely from February 25 to 28 with minimum temperatures of 13ºC to 15ºC mainly during the early morning and dawn of the 26th, with lower thermal sensations being perceived in rural areas of the state.
“For Monday, the arrival of the cold front and its associated trough will give rise to intense storms, possibly accompanied by abundant electrical activity, squalls and the formation of waterspouts in the north of Quintana Roo and Riviera Maya.
“Likewise, strong storms are expected possibly accompanied by abundant electrical activity and possible squalls over the east of Yucatan as well as central and southern Quintana Roo,” the SMN reported.
“There is a moderate-high risk of flooding and the possibility of urban and rural flooding mainly in the Riviera Maya and Cancun.
“It is recommended to take precautions and stay abreast of the warnings issued by the authorities. In the rest of the peninsular area, the rains will be more dispersed and of lesser intensity,” they said.
