A Rainy Rainy Season

I have written previously that we have received a lot of precipitation during this year's rainy season, including some serious flooding earlier this month.  In July we had twice the normal amount of rain, and that is being repeated this month.

As you can see from this photo that I took off of the Weather Channel website, with a couple days still left in the month of August, we have had just over 13 inches of rain... nearly twice the historical average.  September is still part of the rainy season although the amount of precipitation usually declines a bit.  We will see if the above average trend continues next month.  By the end of October it is the dry season.  Scarce rainfall continues until June.

Although Mexico City has suffered flooded streets and worse, the upside is that the reservoirs that supply much of the city's water are being replenished.  In the first half of 2024, after a long drought, experts were talking about "Day Zero", when the city would run out of water.  That was predicted to occur on June 26th, 2024.  But before "Day Zero" arrived, the rainy season began.  With a normal rainy season last year, and super abundant rains this year, a calamity was averted.

The Cutzamala System is a network of reservoirs, pipes and pumping stations that is one of the largest water supply systems in the world.  It provides Mexico City with over one third of its water.  In the spring of 2024, when it seemed that the city would run out of water, Cutzamala was at only 27% of its capacity.  By the beginning of this month, the capacity had risen to 62%, and as of August 28th, the capacity was at 72%.  Although, the water crisis has been avoided for the time being, the government still urges conservation.  Another drought could once again put the thirsty capital in danger.