Riviera Maya, Q.R. — Winter is not quite over yet for the Yucatan Peninsula. As Polar air cold front 40 leaves, it will be replaced by Arctic air, cold front 41. Mexico’s meteorologists say cold front 41 will enter north and northeastern Mexico starting Sunday night. Strong wind gusts are expected around the Peninsula along with rain as it enters the region early next week.
Cold front 40, which was stationary over the Yucatán Peninsula, is slowly moving off. Not far behind is a mass of Arctic air, cold front 41.
“On Saturday and Sunday, an upper-level trough will move over the Gulf of Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula. Interacting with a low-pressure system over the peninsula and southeastern Mexico, it will produce showers and heavy rain in these regions.
“Meanwhile, a dry line will develop over Coahuila, interacting with the subtropical jet stream, generating strong winds with possible dust devils in northern and northeastern Mexico. Additionally, a southerly wind event is expected in Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and Veracruz,” the National Meteorological Service (SMN) reported.
“On Sunday night, a new cold front (No. 41) will enter northern and northeastern Mexico interacting with a trough in the middle and upper levels of the atmosphere and with the polar and subtropical jet streams generating strong gusts of wind in the aforementioned regions, as well as rain and showers in Tamaulipas.
“During Monday, the cold front 41 and its associated Arctic air mass will move over the Gulf of Mexico coast, so a drop in temperature is expected in much of the country (except in the west, south and southeast).
“Probability of showers and heavy rains are likely in the northeast, east and southeast including the Yucatan Peninsula. Torrential downpours are forecast for Puebla and Veracruz and intense downpours in Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco.
The arrival of cold front 41 will also include “an intense “Norte” event with gusts of 100 to 120 km/h in Tamaulipas and Veracruz, with gusts of 80 to 100 km/h in the Isthmus and Gulf of Tehuantepec (Oaxaca and Chiapas),” according to the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN).
“Gusts of 50 to 70 km/h are expected in Tabasco, Campeche and Yucatán, in addition to high waves along the coasts of these states.
“There is a possibility of snow or sleet on the peaks of Pico de Orizaba, Cofre de Perote, Popocatépetl, Iztaccíhuatl, Sierra Negra, Nevado de Toluca and La Malinche.
“During the forecast period, low pressure channels over the interior of the country, coupled with atmospheric instability and the entry of moisture from the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea will cause scattered showers and thunderstorms in states of the northeast, west, center and south of the country.
“The heat wave will prevail in Jalisco (south and southwest), Colima (east), Michoacán (central and southwest), Guerrero (central and south), Oaxaca (south and east) and Chiapas (west), while on Sunday, the heat wave will end in Durango (west), Sinaloa (central and south) and Nayarit (west).”
