Violent winds of up to 75 kilometers per hour arrived Sunday afternoon with the entrance of Cold Front Number 31 to Yucatan, which generated an emergency situation due to the power outages in different parts of Merida, in addition to felled trees, billboards and even a part of the awnings installed in the parking lot of a well-known supermarket in the north of the capital.
In Progreso and other Yucatan ports and seaside communities, the sea rose and the strong winds propelled the coursing water into streets, homes and buildings.
According to the National Water Commission (Conagua), in the meteorological observatory located at the airport, the gusts registered 53 kilometers per hour; in the meteorological station of the Cinvestav, 66 kph, and in the port of Progreso, 76 kph.
From Celestun in the west, to El Cuyo, in the east, the ports were closed to navigation, due to the violent arrival of the Norte storm, the third to lash Yucatan in a span of eight days, with the recording of waves of up to three meters.
The head of the Regional Captaincy of Ports, Bernardo Crespo Silva, said that in Progreso the winds were from 70 to 80 kilometers per hour.
Specialist Juan Vázquez Montalvo explained that 10 minutes before noon, winds of 75 km / h were recorded in a northeasterly direction and a downpour of rain began to fall for half an hour, in addition to the fact that the ambient temperature quickly decreased by eight degrees, from 24.5 to 16 degrees centigrade.
“The squall that was generated by the meeting of the two air masses, one cold and one hot, will travel throughout the Yucatan peninsula heading east towards Quintana Roo, which will cause the temperatures to continue to drop so that by dawn Monday they will register between 10 to 15 degrees for Merida and 10 in the northeast, southeast and south of the state being lower reached in the southern cone,” the official explained Sunday.
“Cold Front 31 is moving in a northwest direction, entering the entity and heading towards the neighboring state of Quintana Roo,” said the head of the Center for Attention to Extreme Phenomena (Ciafeme).
In the area of the Mayan Fountain, a billboard and tree branches fell in front of the facilities of the Japay, while in the Fraccionamiento Park the structure of some traffic lights fell on the highway in a loud way with the strong winds that, according to reports, damaged windows in the Plaza Mérida square, while in the north of the city they downed the tarps that cover the parking lot of the well-known supermarket.
As a result of the storm, among events suspended were the scheduled air show at the La Isla Shopping Center and the Arrancones 1/4 mile 2019 event that would take place at the Yucatan Autodrome “Emerson Fittipaldi”, whose track was totally flooded.
Also, the direction of Culture of the City council of Mérida suspended the programmed activities on the occasion of the closing of Mérida Fest 2019.
In the port of Progreso, winds of 76 degrees were reported that threw branches and tarps in the Morelos park, besides that in the Main Park they even overturned some stands in which fried foods are sold.
The Secretariat of Public Security (SSP) shared on its Twitter images of flooded streets and palm trees swaying violently with the wind while emphasizing that there were no major problems regarding the safety of citizenship.
The corporation also broadcast images on the Halachó-Becal highways, on the border with the state of Campeche and Celestún, where downed trees blocked roads.
The same happened in Kanasín, where officials came to remove the branches from the roof of a humble home.
In Celestun, the strong winds knocked down a post from the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), which fell on a car; In Telchac Puerto, Civil Protection reported that there were dozens of trees felled and a sea surge 7 feet high that flooded the marina area.
In the ports of San Felipe, Río Lagartos, Las Coloradas and El Cuyo, floods were reported as in most of the Yucatan coast.
The strong wind caused that several trees fell in roads of Panabá and Chichimilá, and state and municipal police united themselves to remove them, since they blocked the roads.
In the ports of San Crisanto, Chabihau, Santa Clara and Dzilam De Bravo, the strong winds knocked down trees and signs, and also caused the sea water to rise several meters.
Under surveillance
State authorities maintained surveillance by the Cold Front and worked in coordination with the (CFE) to restore service in colonies and municipalities where the power supply was interrupted.
The passage of the phenomenon through state territory caused material damage, without official reports of injured persons or human losses.
Text: Manuel Pool and Ivan Duarte
