First Mexican Hurricane

Above, Barking Spider Road partially washed away last July by a monsoon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The first Mexican hurricane of 2022 is now forming over the Pacific Ocean and its track will carry it over the Mexican isthmus and into the Gulf of Mexico. This caught my attention.

According to the Associated Press:

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The first hurricane of the season formed off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast Sunday and rapidly gained power ahead of an expected strike along a stretch of tourist beaches and fishing towns as a major storm.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Agatha was expected to make landfall as a powerful Category 3 hurricane Monday afternoon or evening in the area near Puerto Escondido and Puerto Angel in the southern state of Oaxaca — a region that includes the laid-back tourist resorts of Huatulco, Mazunte and Zipolite.

The center warned that the hurricane could deliver a dangerous storm surge.

This hurricane won't affect New Mexico with any monsoon rains. Hurricanes that form further north of the Pacific Ocean and over Baja California do produce monsoon rains in the Southwest. Monsoons usually start around June 15 and go into the end of September. 

Last summer, we had a couple of good ones. One of them partially washed away Barking Spider Road, which left some ruts that I had to repair.