This summer is going to be the first summer that I do not have school the following fall and I am utterly stoked about getting out of the States for a while to visit Europe and the Middle East. It might be a dangerous time to travel but it is more than past time for me to gain the global experience that a guy like myself desperately needs if I want to become a better and more rounded individual. I bought a turkey tours package for myself as a graduation present and I can hardly contain my excitement at finally being able to travel overseas without the concern of having to attend university after the trip – I want to be able to take the time to absorb the experiences that I will no doubt have and digest them for a good year. Perhaps, even, to write a book while I rest my feet after years of scholastic pursuit. Read the rest…

It’s been a few years but once more Cancun is facing the threat of a hurricane, this time Hurricane Rina. Unfortunately, the previous authors of this blog are busy with other projects so I’m afraid we wont be providing so many updates this time around.

Here is the tracking map for Hurricane Rina which updates every 3 hours:

At the present time, Rina has been downgraded from her previous Cat 2 status and is now expected to remain a Category 1 when she reaches the Cancun area. This is a lot better than things were looking a few days ago and I dont expect there to be much in the way of damage, just some nasty rain and wind.

Heavy rain has just started here in Cancun and if you’d like to follow along please visit the Live Cancun Webcam which updates every few seconds.

For further reading please check out the following links:

Blogs, Webcams and Forums:

• Cancuncare  – Busy Forum devoted to Cancun run by me Steve, a British expat living in Cancun.
• Cancun Canuck – Blog by Kelly a Canadian expat living in Cancun.
• Cancun Webcam – Fantastic view over the Cancun hotel zone and lagoon.
• Jeff Masters Tropical Weather Blog – Professional meteorologist discusses latest tropical storm activity

Official Resources:

• National Hurricane Center
• Stormpulse
• Wunderground
  

Gustav is about to reach his closest point to Cancun and all is well here. We had a small thunderstorm around 3:30pm which lasted for about 20 minutes and a couple of puffs of wind but the rest of the day has been mainly sunny. Now, the sky overhead is clear and tomorrow looks like it will be just like any other day in paradise. However, I understand that all maritime activities have been suspended for tomorrow as a precautionary measure.

The diagram below shows that there is zero probability of any winds occuring even of Tropical Storm force, let alone hurricane force, right across the Yucatan from Gustav.

Of course, Gustav continues on his way unabated and is currently tearing up Cuba before making landfall in the USA. As we bring another chapter of the Hurricane Cancun blog to a close we wish everyone in Gustav’s path the best of luck.
Posted by Steve in Cancun.

I noticed a little peak in traffic today to this website and presumably this is because the first hurricane of the 2008 season, Hurricane Bertha, has now formed. I just wanted to reassure everyone that Hurricane Bertha is of no threat to Cancun or the Riviera Maya whatsoever and an unprecedented shift in course would need to occur before it became even a slight worry.

Please be assured though that this blog is still alive and well, just that thankfully there is nothing to report on at the moment. Hopefully things will remain quiet for the rest of the 2008 season, but if not you’ll be sure to find all the latest news from the Cancun and Riviera Maya region right here.

Posted by Steve

The path for Felix is now very certain, and it is clear that Cancun will be unaffected. The current prediction is that Felix will make landfall around the Nicaraguan / Honduras border tomorrow, then move through Honduras before affecting Guatamala and Southern Belize.

Cancun and the Riviera Maya are safe with a zero per cent chance of Cancun suffering hurricane force winds.

It is time to suspend the blog once again, we’ll be back posting when another hurricane looks likely to affect Cancun. But for now our thoughts are with those who will undoubtedly suffer major devastation and likely loss of life from Felix.

Until next time.
Posted by Steve

Cancun Vacation Guide | Live Cancun Webcam | Cancun Message Board

Hurricane Felix has grown in strength enormously and is now the strongest category possible, a category 5 hurricane. As it continues over warm water there seems little to stop it growing in ferocity, although there is no Category 6.

Looking at Cancun though, the forecasts have become a little more eratic and have diverged from earlier in the day. However, the divergence has been such that the prediction is Cancun and the Riviera Maya is less likely of being hit even than it was earlier. Two of the five models now suggest that Felix will strike land in Honduras or even Nicaragua, although the median still suggests a strike on Belize some 400 miles south of Cancun.

For sure this is going to be a biggie, and there may be some twists and turns along the way. But the chances of it affecting Cancun are currently miniscule and cancelling a planned vacation should not be on the cards at this point imho.

We’ll continue to provide daily updates on Felix’s progress, but wont be resuming full blogging mode unless things change drastically and the Cancun / Riviera Maya area becomes threatened.

Posted by Steve

Cancun Vacation Guide | Live Cancun Webcam | Cancun Message Board

To answer a couple of queries.

We are keeping an eye on Hurricane Felix which has just reached hurricane status. The tracking map curently has Felix making landfall some 400 miles south of Cancun, so even further away than Dean. At the present time there is only a 5-10% chance of hurricane force winds in Cancun when Felix makes landfall.

We are monitoring the situation but dont want to cause undue alarm by reopening the blog if there is little or no threat to Cancun, which thankfully seems to be the case at the current time.

If things change we’ll be jumping back into blogging mode again.

Posted by Steve

Cancun Vacation Guide | Live Cancun Webcam | Cancun Message Board

Cancun is back to normal and so must we continue with our everyday lives here in the sun. Cancun was very fortunate and things could have been much worse.

200 miles south things were much worse and there has been significant damage that will take a long time to recover from. We now have a donate page which offers different options if you would like to help out those affected financially.

This blog was started exactly a week ago today. In that time we have received over 145,000 visits, more than a thousand comments and attracted widespread International press coverage. From the comments received we know that many vacations that might have been cancelled have gone ahead and that many who could not contact their loved ones in the area have had their worries eased. We are sorry that we haven’t been able to respond to all the comments individually, there are so many of them and to investigate almost every stretch of beach and status of every hotel in the region is an impossible task.

The blog will remain online and if/when another hurricane looks set to come a calling then we’ll be resuming our reporting once again and telling the story as we see it unfold in our home city of Cancun.

My thanks go to Kelly (CancunCanuck), Kimberley (Rivergirl) and Jim (Dangers), without their excellent contributions the undoubted success of our blog could not have been achieved.

Posted by Steve

Cancun Vacation Guide | Live Cancun Webcam | Cancun Message Board

As we head on out to a self imposed hiatus, preferably a hiatus that will be substantial, given the subject matter, hurricanes, I’d like to remind everyone that while Cancun, and the areas within close proximity were fortunately spared any widespread damages from Hurricane Dean, that some, many, were not so fortunate.

 The Southern Yucatan coastal region of Costa Maya, and further inland Chetumal and Felipe Carillo, and the surrounding locations, received heavy damage from surf, wind and flooding due to Hurricane Dean. Early reports are indicating hundreds of homes have been damaged or destroyed, roads flooded, crops ruined and the major tourism Cruise Ship port at Majahual has been severely damaged, limiting future tourism to the area, and subsequently, severely hampering the employment situation, of many hard working men and women in the region, as they seek to cope and recover from Hurricane Dean.

A tale of two cities if you would, Cancun and Chetumal. Hurricane Dean is to Chetumal and region, what Hurricane Wilma, was to Cancun almost two short years ago.

Please help if you can by visiting the area as soon as the area is capable of receiving visitors , donating to charity, or simply sending a good thought or prayer, if so inclined. Aid and assistance to the local population would certainly be appreciated, and much needed from those whom are able to help.

 Also, as we close the HurricaneCancun.com blog, I’d like to thank my fellow bloggers, Steve, whom made this possible, Kelly, Kimberly and Jorge. These folks, were down in the trenches, seeking and providing a vast array of both first hand and sourced information, in a grass roots method, both professionally, accurately and timely.

In the end though, it’s you the readers that made this endeavor worthwhile, and I thank each and every one of you, and those whom provided input, or supported the site, during the lead up to Hurricane Dean.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

Until next time, signing off;

In a Little Cafe, On the Other Side of the Border….

Dangers…

(Jim)

Like Rivergirl, I wanted to extend my thanks to Steve for giving us the opportunity to write, it was very therapeutic and I hope it was helpful. We’re back to normal here, I went to work this morning as per usual. We had such a good time with our houseguests on the night the hurricane was supposed to come that we will be having “hurricane drill” parties more often.

Thanks for all your kind comments and questions. For any questions about hotels and services in the area, check out Steve’s fabulous forum at www.cancuncare.com.

We’ll see you next hurricane, hopefully that will be a loooong time away though!

posted by CancunCanuck aka Kelly