Riviera Maya, Q.R. — State officials have begun preparations for the arrival of a system expected to hit the coastal region this weekend. While the system is currently only a low pressure zone, the National Hurricane Centre (NOAA) says it has a high probability of further development before making landfall.
On Monday, Guillermo Núñez Leal, the General Director of the State Coordination of Civil Protection of Quintana Roo (COEPROC), led a virtual meeting with the 11 Municipal Directors of Civil Protection.
During the meeting, officials “agreed to begin the necessary preparations in the presence of a low pressure zone in the Atlantic Ocean with a high probability of cyclonic development in the next seven days,” State Civil Protection reported.
Upfront preparations include “the installation and equipping of emergency shelters as well as the cleaning of drains to minimize the risk of flooding. These actions are part of a comprehensive response plan to climate emergencies, ensuring that all municipalities are prepared to face possible contingencies,” the state agency reported.
As of Tuesday morning, the low pressure zone, which is headed for the coast of Quintana Roo, is located approximately 2,400 kilometers east-southeast of the coast.
According to the NOAA, currently, the system only has a 30 percent probability of further development over the next week, however, as it continues west and reaches the Caribbean Sea, it is expected to quickly develop further.
Regardless of development, Mexico’s Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) is calling for very heavy rains for the state Friday. Up to 150 mms of rain is forecast for the coastal region of Quintana Roo with the arrival of the low pressure zone.
“During the course of Friday, a low pressure system with the probability of developing into a cyclone is expected to approach the Yucatan Peninsula, causing very heavy rains to intense points in the Peninsula as well as in the southeast in addition to strong gusts of wind and high waves on the coasts of Yucatan and Quintana Roo,” the SMN reported early Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, the NOAA clarified “any development of this system should be slow to occur during the next couple of days while it moves westward over the central Caribbean Sea.
“Environmental conditions are expected to become more conducive for development later this week as the system moves across the western Caribbean Sea or the southern Gulf of Mexico.”
