Tropical storms occur along the Baja Peninsula each year. The season officially begins on June 1 and officially ends Nov. 30. Most of our storms in southern Baja occur in late August to mid October.

Our first hurricane experience was post Isis in September 1998.

We were driving on our first trip down the Baja Peninsula to move to Cabo San Lucas and had to traverse several washes (arroyos) through southern Baja. Thankfully we missed the worst of the storm and had no problems arriving in Cabo and to our new home.

During the 11 years we have lived in Cabo we have seen several storms and many others have just missed us. The worst during our tenure in Cabo has been Hurricane Juliette which landed and stayed for a few days in September 2001.

Juliette was a cat 4 with 145 mph winds and wreaked havoc at the tip of the Baja. For those of you who love Medano Beach you wouldn’t have recognized it! The airport was closed for several days and supplies were brought in by ships to the Los Cabos area. Cabo and San Jose del Cabo were cut off from the rest of the peninsula due to the damage on the highway. In fact for 3-4 days there was no access between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas.

Storms during our years in Cabo include: 1999 Tropical Storm Greg, 2000 Jimena and Ileana, 2001 Julio and Juliette, 2003 Marty and Ignacio, 2004 Javier, 2006 John, 2007 Henrietta, 2008 Julio, and this year Hurricane Jimena and tropical storm Patricia. We prepare for each storm by stocking up on water, food and gas and buttoning down all the hatches. Our Cabo staff members check on any visitors staying in our vacation rental homes and advise them regarding the storm and preparations. During an intense storm it can be pretty scary however the worst of the storm, in my opinion, is not the storm itself but the effects after the storm. Lack of services, inaccessibility and clean up are part of this along with heat and humidity and usually go on longer than the storm. For our vacation rental visitors it may mean an extra few days of vacation which is a plus for most of them.

Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo were very lucky this Aug. 31 when Hurricane Jimena took a turn and landed north of Cabo. The communities north of us were not so fortunate. Constitucion, Loreto, Mulege and surrounding small communities in the area were devastated when this destructive storm hit. The people of these areas are still recouping from Jimena.

Tropical Storm Patricia is leaving its mark with plenty of rain, 60 mph winds and some delays at the airport. We love it when it rains in Cabo but are always glad when that glorious sunshine returns and we are back on the beach!

You can find more pics about the hurricane season on our Flickr page.