Will Grant says Mexico went from one hurricane every few years to two or three at once
Grant says each season feels worse than the last, with towns still rebuilding when the next storm hits.
Global News Podcast · Trump calls for Zelensky to be replacedAccording to Will Grant, a correspondent reporting from Mexico, the country maybe got one significant storm every few years. Now, he says, it feels like two or three storms happen at once in a single hurricane season.
This season shows what he means. Two Pacific storms, Simon and Rachel, headed toward Mexico's Pacific coast at the same time Isaias threatened the Gulf side after hitting Florida. Simon, a Category 4 storm, was on a path toward Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, and Nayarit, with some airlines suspending flights to the resort city of Puerto Vallarta.
Grant says storms are striking more often and more powerfully, and could bring storm surge, flash flooding, and winds that pose a real danger to lives, homes, schools, and businesses. For fishing communities, he says, they are stuck ashore and unable to work while the storms pass, and places such as Acapulco are still recovering from the last storm when the next one hits.
Questions people ask
Is El Nino causing Mexico's worse hurricanes?
El Nino is a natural warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean that can add heat and moisture that hurricanes feed on. It can shift where storms form and make Pacific storms stronger, though it can suppress Atlantic storms. Scientists say the broader rise in storm intensity is tied to much warmer oceans overall.
How dangerous is a Category 4 storm like Simon?
A Category 4 hurricane has sustained winds of 130 to 156 miles per hour. Winds that strong can tear off roofs, knock out power for weeks, and push a wall of seawater onto shore. Even the outer bands can drop several inches of rain in hours and cause flash floods inland.
Why does it matter if storms arrive at the same time?
One storm strains shelters, crews, and supplies. Two or three at once force officials to split rescue teams, close airports and roads in several states, and suspend work at the same time. Recovery also gets harder because money and repair crews are still tied up from the last storm.