Coast Is Clear: Hurricane Bypasses Los Cabos

With sustained winds of up to 150 mph, Hurricane Jimena, a Category 4 hurricane, had the potential to wreak some serious havoc in fun-and sun-loving Los Cabos. But someone’s prayers must have been heard and the popular resort avoided any significant damage, with the Los Cabos Convention & Visitors Bureau announcing yesterday that hotels and other tourism services throughout the area have resumed normal operations. “While we were well prepared for the storm, we are obviously very relieved that Hurricane Jimena passed us by,” says Gonzalo Franyutti, President of the Los Cabos Convention & Visitors Bureau, “Now our guests can continue their vacations and enjoy our fine resorts and services without further concern.”

According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Jimena was officially downgraded to Category 2 status Tuesday night, and yesterday was demoted to a Category 1, with winds hitting approximately 80mph as it traveled in a northwest direction, making landfall yesterday afternoon at Pacific coast fishing villages opposite the Sea of Cortez resort of Loreto. Additionally, the Mexican government has discontinued the hurricane warning for the entire southern part of the Baja California peninsula. Forecasters predict that Jimena will continue to weaken as it moves inland.

Throughout the duration of the storm, the municipality of Los Cabos did not lose electricity and there were no reported injuries, although there were isolated outages, sustained high winds and buckets of rain. And although thousands of residents were evacuated as a precaution and most visitors left the area (leaving occupancy levels at 25 percent), some tourists decided to stick around to witness nature’s power (see video here). Besides avoiding destruction that many observers say could have been catastrophic, southern Baja has actually benefited from Jimena, which will dump an estimated 5 to 10 inches of rain, bringing welcome relief from a drought that has been parching the area.

For additional updates and to view current images and videos from Los Cabos, check Twitter @LOSCABOSCVB or visit the destination’s YouTube pages.