Dec. 22-24 Bomb cyclone affect Mexico plans?

[freedc]

Winter storm Elliott, described in the media as a possible "bomb cyclone" is forecasted to bring severe temperatures and wind to much of the U.S. starting Wednesday night. Even Florida may get freezing temperatures and high winds.
Here is an article (in Spanish) with local forecast: Clima en Yucatán: frente frío ''Junajaw'' llega, así afectará la Península

Any idea if the effects will be felt in the Gulf or Caribbean coasts of Yucatan?

I mean, those of us with dive travel planned may never get there because flights will be messed up. That's one problem I'm dealing with, but I wonder what conditions will be like if there are cold temps or high winds. Do storms push silt into cenotes? Do they stir up currents on the reef and reduce visibility? Rough (or no) boat rides to Cozumel? Maybe I'm being paranoid.

 

[ibj40]

¡Christmas Norte!

Windguru is predicting a Norte on Saturday to Tuesday. Polar Plunge in Kansas to Texas on Thursday is a good indication of upcoming Norte in Cozumel and closed ports.

scubaboard.com

 

[Kimela]

There's another thread started called Christmas Norte - discussing the coming weather pattern. They're looking at WindGuru and it seems likely the harbor will close the 24/25. The biggest threat to Cozumel (as far as I know) is the wind and higher seas. I honestly don't know if a couple of days of higher winds results in lower viz on the reef. But someone will know ...

 

[halocline]

Do storms push silt into cenotes? Do they stir up currents on the reef and reduce visibility? Rough (or no) boat rides to Cozumel? Maybe I'm being paranoid.

The cenotes will be unaffected by any typical winter storm, but if the winds are from the north, the Cozumel harbor will close and no dive boats will go out. In severe cases the ferry shuts down.

You're not paranoid, nortes definitely wreak havoc on winter dive trips in Cozumel and the media is making a really big deal out of this storm. If you're trying to choose what to do, I would keep an eye on the weather and consider booking cenote trips now. Want a suggestion? Under the jungle, a great cave diving shop right near the entrance to Tajma Ha cenote.

 

[living4experiences]

Not sure if this is helpful, but I'll share my experience. I was already in San Diego on a transport to Ensenada for a Great White Shark dive trip with Nautilus (liveaboard) in October 2021 when they called the driver to cancel the trip due to the bomb cyclone making its way down the West Coast.

These are nasty storms. IMO, the storm can disrupt visibility and boat rides.

 

[tursiops]

Do storms push silt into cenotes?

No

Do they stir up currents on the reef and reduce visibility?

Usually

Rough (or no) boat rides to Cozumel?

Sometimes

Maybe I'm being paranoid.

No, it is worth having contingency plans. The old saying: "Just because you are not paranoid doesn't mean that they are not out to get you."

 

[Lorenzoid]

Winter storm Elliott, described in the media as a possible "bomb cyclone" is forecasted to bring severe temperatures and wind to much of the U.S. starting Wednesday night. Even Florida may get freezing temperatures and high winds.
Here is an article (in Spanish) with local forecast: Clima en Yucatán: frente frío ''Junajaw'' llega, así afectará la Península

Any idea if the effects will be felt in the Gulf or Caribbean coasts of Yucatan?

I mean, those of us with dive travel planned may never get there because flights will be messed up. That's one problem I'm dealing with, but I wonder what conditions will be like if there are cold temps or high winds. Do storms push silt into cenotes? Do they stir up currents on the reef and reduce visibility? Rough (or no) boat rides to Cozumel? Maybe I'm being paranoid.

Well, thanks for letting me know! I'm in Yucatan now, and I've been oblivious to weather forecasts or what's going on back in the US. I think I'll go to Walmart tomorrow and buy some clothes! Sounds like a t-shirt and shorts won't cut it in the coming days.

 

[ibj40]

Well, thanks for letting me know! I'm in Yucatan now, and I've been oblivious to weather forecasts or what's going on back in the US. I think I'll go to Walmart tomorrow and buy some clothes! Sounds like a t-shirt and shorts won't cut it in the coming days.

Back when we owned our house on Cozumel, we were down there in November.

We needed to freshen up the paint on the outside wall and entry arch.

I was out there in cut-off shorts and a tank top.

Locals were walking by in long pants and jackets.

Similar situation a couple of years after we sold the house and we were in Puerto Aventuras.

We showed up at the dive shop one morning, and the entire staff was in fleece-lined jackets.

These are unique events for these folks, and while it might not seem that bad to us, it is an acclimatization process.

 

[flyboy08]

It's cloudy, windy and a few sprinkles, but the tequila knows no difference...looking forward to Los Totales tonight...I still call it that...the port will open eventually

 

[freedc]

OP here. Well, I'm back from the trip. I was actually fine... once we made it to Mexico. We were the last flight out of St. Louis before everything was cancelled. Just barely made it before the apocalypse descended on the midwest. Felt like the millenium falcon shooting off the Death Start just before it exploded.

Once there the diving was good. They did close the ports on some of the days, just not the days we dove. The viz on the reef dives (Playa del Carmen and Cozumel) was completely fine. Actually, the current was really weak, so my son's first drift diving was not as exciting as I had described it to him. Cenote diving was fine too. No issues.

The issue was cold and cloudy conditions. If anything, that meant that non-diving activities, like beach and pool lounging, were washed out. For those of us with non-diving families that increases the guilt level a bit since we left them behind with less to do. The temps out of the water were cool and we got some rain, at times hard-driving, so I wished I had brought a fleece-lined rain jacket or a fleece with a poncho for surface intervals. The ride back from Cozumel to PDC was a little rough. Swells were high in the channel, but it just meant more spray from the boat on our cold bodies after the dives. No big deal.

By the way, the diveop, Cenote Xperience, which I found from recommendations here on Scubaboard, was fantastic. They were easy to communicate with, helpful accommodating our preferences, and knowledgeable. We dove with Martin in the ocean and Carlos in the cenotes. Like most PDC shops, they don't use their own boats, so our group shared with the other diveops -- about 3 or 4 DMs on the boat each with 2-3 customers. If you're driving to their shop, use the address in their email signature, not the one on Google maps!