Bad Jujus

I was not planning on blogging while here in Mexico. Since we are only here for two weeks, my goal was to have no goals - except to listen to my body, and give it everything it needs. So for a week I have been sleeping, eating, drinking, reading, mindlessly surfing the net, and sleeping some more. Normally that would be a very hard thing for me to do, I struggle to sit still for any length of time, but I am so exhausted from two months of hard work on the reno that I am not even bored yet. I even took a nap one day - almost unheard of for me. Relaxation may have to be put on hold now though...things are about to get pretty exciting around here.

At this writing we are now watching closely as two severe storms, Tropical Storm Vicente and Hurricane Willa, pick up speed and strength and head our way. Hurricane Willa is currently a Category 3 hurricane and is expected to get even stronger. Fortunately it is expected to weaken before making landfall, not too far from here, as a Cat 2 storm...maybe even Cat 3. Now for some people, that would be “bad jujus” as my friend Leann says, but if you know me, you know I am a storm chaser, and so the prospect of experiencing a hurricane is really quite exciting, and reading hourly forecasts for me beats the hell out of watching 14 Night Shift episodes in a row on Netflix. I LOVE storms.

I started storm chasing when I was in my twenties; back before storm chasing was a thing. I was a stay at home mom and would often pack the kids up, strap them in their carseats, and head out on a chase. (I know, I know, in hindsight that probably could have gotten me arrested for child abuse). In those days, chasing wasn’t a tourist thing, or a tour...it was a volunteer job to report funnel clouds, wall clouds, or tornadoes to Environment Canada.

Most of my chases were busts, (storm chaser jargon for seeing no tornados) however, I have seen the most amazing cloud formations. Liquid sky. Breathtaking beauty. I even snapped some great photos of the epic storm that produced the tornado that killed 12 in Pine Lake, AB on July 14, 2000. After the storm I drove and walked part of the path of destruction...a kilometer wide path of flattened trees. The power of nature is awe inspiring. It humbles me. I knew two people who died in that storm that ripped through a campground tossing RVs into the lake like dinky toys. It was very tragic and I do not take storms lightly.

I did a couple of radio interviews after that storm (I was the only registered female storm chaser at that time, part of a group called the Fighting Prairie Weather Dogs, so I often got contacted by media). I remember the interviewer saying, “why in the world would you want to go anywhere near a storm like that?” And all I could say in response was to describe the beauty of a backlit supercell racing across the golden yellow canola fields - a sharp contrast of colours - like a beautiful canvas, blue black against electric yellow - with wispy virga trailing and a rainbow framing, and how it reminds me of how small I truly am...an ant in the universe. Chasing a storm is like being an astronaut...striving to reach something unreachable. A reminder of my powerlessness.

Although Hurricane Willa is likely to make landfall some distance from here, we are in a unique position here on the Bay of Bandaras as we are in the direct path of Vicente - coming from the south, and just to the south of Willa. Air travels counterclockwise around a storm, and so where we are puts us in a small area where the destructive winds and storm surge from both storms converge.

Winds in this area are predicted to be sustained at least 60mph, and the storm surge could be quite a serous threat.

We will know more tomorrow, and I will be following the Hurricane Center’s regular updates, and will try to post pics as things evolve. We are located in Punta de Mita at the northern end of the Bay, just south of the Hurricane watch zone. We are currently under a tropical storm warning. Some people might not be taking this storm serously, however, I have too much respect for the power of storms. I have been within 2 miles of a storm that killed many people and I was scared shitless. Nature is truly awesome. I would be stupid to not be frightened of what is to come, but it will remind me of my place in the universe.