State authorities activated four temporary shelters in Los Cabos on Saturday as forecasters warned of continued heavy rainfall across Baja California Sur through Tuesday, September 9.
Mexico’s National Meteorological Service (SMN) is calling for rainfall totals of 75 to 155 millimeters — roughly 3 to 6 inches — concentrated primarily in Los Cabos, La Paz and Loreto. The rains are being driven by the Mexican monsoon, atmospheric instability and mid-level troughs, not by a tropical cyclone.
“These rains are not generated by any tropical cyclone,” Rafael Trejo Vázquez, SMN’s manager of Meteorology and Climatology, confirmed during Saturday’s State Civil Protection Council meeting.
Which Shelters Are Open
Los Cabos activated four shelters following an emergency session of the Municipal Civil Protection Council on Saturday. In Cabo San Lucas, the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz primary school in Las Palmas and the Héroes de 1847 primary school in Lomas del Sol are open. In San José del Cabo, residents can seek shelter at CECyTE 04 in Santa Rosa or Secundaria Técnica 14 in San José Viejo.
Alberto Rentería Santana, Los Cabos’ secretary general, said no evacuation orders had been issued as of Sunday morning but that the shelters remain staffed and available. “The shelters were opened preventively and are ready to receive people if conditions require it,” he said in a statement.
La Paz prepared four additional Plan A shelters beginning Saturday night: the agricultural sciences building at Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur; Secundaria José María Garma González in El Centenario; Primaria Emma Isabel Osuna in Colonia Lázaro Cárdenas; and Secundaria Gabriel Francisco Ojeda Agúndez in El Esterito.
Weather Conditions Expected
Forecasters are calling for partly cloudy to overcast skies with thunderstorms through Monday, September 8. Maximum temperatures in northwestern and central parts of the state are expected to reach 35 to 40°C (95 to 104°F).
Winds from the west and northwest will gust between 40 and 60 kilometers per hour, with wave heights of 2 to 3 meters along the Pacific coast.
The heaviest rainfall is expected overnight Saturday into Sunday morning, when moisture from the Pacific moves inland. Trejo Vázquez urged residents to take extra precautions during that window.
By Tuesday, according to local reports from El Sudcaliforniano, rainfall totals are expected to drop to 25 to 50 millimeters and shift toward the center and north of the state.
What Residents Should Do
Governor Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío called on residents to monitor official communications and avoid unnecessary risks. Authorities are urging people not to cross arroyos, streams or flooded areas, warning that rising water levels could create life-threatening conditions.
State Civil Protection officials are maintaining surveillance on watersheds that could overflow and affect roads, infrastructure and populated areas.
Baja California Sur’s health department also issued temporary beach closures in La Paz from El Comitán to El Caimancito and at several Los Cabos beaches including El Médano, Empacadora, the San José hotel zone and La Playita. The restrictions remain in place until water quality tests confirm no contamination from storm runoff.
Not Tropical
Trejo Vázquez emphasized that this weather event is separate from any tropical system. The rainfall is the result of cyclonic circulations and low-pressure troughs at mid and upper atmospheric levels, combined with Pacific moisture.
The State Civil Protection Council said it will continue monitoring conditions and updating the public as the system moves through the region over the next three days.
