From The Blanket...Back To Boring (Weather Update)
Mar 28, 2014
Over the last two days our temperature variation drew down from the usual narrow gap...to pretty much no gap. Two days ago the high temperature on the beach was 78, and the low 71 (25.5 and 21.7 C.). Yesterday recorded at 78 and 70.5 (25.5 and 21.4 C.), making the difference between day and night more about light and darkness than anything else.
This was caused by "The Blanket," and our last weather update mentioned it will be in force this week. So what exactly is The Blanket, and how does it affect Mazatlan? To answer that question we first need to consolidate and review information discussed over time. (This will be long, but stick with it and considering saving this post. It will help you get more out of future updates)
Maz is uniquely situated, more or less half way between the harsh Sonora Desert, and tropical Southern Mexico. It's also an area where two major weather patterns are reaching their farthest point of influence, and overlap.
1. The fringe of North Pacific storm fronts (which can hammer the U.S. and Canada) just barely reaches Mazatlan. The most active time for this pattern is winter, from very late November through March. However these fronts are unlikely to reach Maz unless they push to the Gulf of California's mouth. This allows token resistance going southward.
Without a La Nina / Jet Stream condition forcing cold air far, far southward, no more than a handful of North Pacific fronts reach Maz each season. During this same winter time period the tropics are in their quiet mode. Consequently in the wintertime Mazatlan's weather is typically quite uneventful, and what we jokingly (and lovingly) call "boring."
2. Conversely the National tourist season from June through October sees our other weather pattern dominate. This coming from the south - southwest, and created by activity in the Intertropical Convergence Zone, just north of the equator. Weather from The Zone can reach northward of Maz depending on ocean water temperatures. Hence the overlap. (Here's an excellent breakdown of The Zone from Wikipedia):
…wikipedia.org/wiki/
In short what we have is an annual battle for supremacy of the skies over Mazatlan. More dominant from the north in winter, then shifting power the opposite direction for summer. Then during the transition months of November, April, and May, weak fronts will come from both directions. This create a stalemate calm area, and is the very reason many people say those months have the best weather.
When The Zone sends weather into Maz it takes many forms, from mild (The Blanket) to wild (Hurricanes). During the NOB season we get the mild version, with skies full of clouds containing a lot of water vapor, but flying too high or not carrying enough moisture to drop rain. Instead they envelop the city with a moist warm cover (The Blanket) that insulates the air and suppresses change.
Just as often happens, a high pressure ridge is currently pushing the bulk these clouds to the northeast. As I write this Maz has broken high white clouds and plenty of people on the beach. Meanwhile Cabo is in the cross-hairs, with a dark, dreary, and heavily overcast sky.
That trend will continue with Maz on the fringe, getting mild overcast and The Blanket keeping things copacetic on the weather front. Not too hot, not too cool, not too breezy, and not too overcast. In short not enough to worry about, or affect your vacation.
While the major weather services see today and tomorrow still being cloudy, I'm more inclined to think this breaks up by Saturday afternoon. Then Sunday look for a return to our magical weather season, with nothing but blue skies and fair temperatures through mid next week. The highs will go up a tad, and lows drop off a couple degrees. However the humidity will disappear as The Blanket moves on, so things will feel the same to your skin.
Breeze will continue to be so gentle you'll barely notice it, and likewise the ocean will be calm with small soft waves and water temperatures about 75 degrees (24 C.). In short the weather will be wonderfully "boring" again.
This was caused by "The Blanket," and our last weather update mentioned it will be in force this week. So what exactly is The Blanket, and how does it affect Mazatlan? To answer that question we first need to consolidate and review information discussed over time. (This will be long, but stick with it and considering saving this post. It will help you get more out of future updates)
Maz is uniquely situated, more or less half way between the harsh Sonora Desert, and tropical Southern Mexico. It's also an area where two major weather patterns are reaching their farthest point of influence, and overlap.
1. The fringe of North Pacific storm fronts (which can hammer the U.S. and Canada) just barely reaches Mazatlan. The most active time for this pattern is winter, from very late November through March. However these fronts are unlikely to reach Maz unless they push to the Gulf of California's mouth. This allows token resistance going southward.
Without a La Nina / Jet Stream condition forcing cold air far, far southward, no more than a handful of North Pacific fronts reach Maz each season. During this same winter time period the tropics are in their quiet mode. Consequently in the wintertime Mazatlan's weather is typically quite uneventful, and what we jokingly (and lovingly) call "boring."
2. Conversely the National tourist season from June through October sees our other weather pattern dominate. This coming from the south - southwest, and created by activity in the Intertropical Convergence Zone, just north of the equator. Weather from The Zone can reach northward of Maz depending on ocean water temperatures. Hence the overlap. (Here's an excellent breakdown of The Zone from Wikipedia):
…wikipedia.org/wiki/
In short what we have is an annual battle for supremacy of the skies over Mazatlan. More dominant from the north in winter, then shifting power the opposite direction for summer. Then during the transition months of November, April, and May, weak fronts will come from both directions. This create a stalemate calm area, and is the very reason many people say those months have the best weather.
When The Zone sends weather into Maz it takes many forms, from mild (The Blanket) to wild (Hurricanes). During the NOB season we get the mild version, with skies full of clouds containing a lot of water vapor, but flying too high or not carrying enough moisture to drop rain. Instead they envelop the city with a moist warm cover (The Blanket) that insulates the air and suppresses change.
Just as often happens, a high pressure ridge is currently pushing the bulk these clouds to the northeast. As I write this Maz has broken high white clouds and plenty of people on the beach. Meanwhile Cabo is in the cross-hairs, with a dark, dreary, and heavily overcast sky.
That trend will continue with Maz on the fringe, getting mild overcast and The Blanket keeping things copacetic on the weather front. Not too hot, not too cool, not too breezy, and not too overcast. In short not enough to worry about, or affect your vacation.
While the major weather services see today and tomorrow still being cloudy, I'm more inclined to think this breaks up by Saturday afternoon. Then Sunday look for a return to our magical weather season, with nothing but blue skies and fair temperatures through mid next week. The highs will go up a tad, and lows drop off a couple degrees. However the humidity will disappear as The Blanket moves on, so things will feel the same to your skin.
Breeze will continue to be so gentle you'll barely notice it, and likewise the ocean will be calm with small soft waves and water temperatures about 75 degrees (24 C.). In short the weather will be wonderfully "boring" again.
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