Spectacular Summer Storms

"Slow and go on the Mexican 200 between Bucarias and Nuevo Vallarta. Along the Malecon this morning, the annual summer influx of tourists from Guadalajara is keeping speeds down . And remember, keep it at 40 kilometers per hour on both ends of the Puerto Vallarta bypass tunnel. The PV police are using radar again and they will nab you even if you're going one kilometer over the limit." If they had it, which I don't believe they do, that is likely what traffic and weather together every ten minutes would sound like on a Puerto Vallarta radio station. And it would likely conclude with the forecast ... the same forecast, day after day after day. "Mostly sunny this morning with increasing clouds by mid-afternoon. A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect from 6:00 to 10:00 tonight with the possibility of heavy rains, flash floods, and dangerous cloud to ground lightning. High today 92, overnight low 78."

It is 9:00 AM. The sunlight has just started to splash the high rise resorts across the bay. Being on the far western edge of the Central time zone and closer to the equator, it isn't until after 8:00 AM that the sun finally creeps over the mountains to the east of town to start the day. It is a beautiful crystal clear morning, clean air, with unlimited visibility. Within nine hours, that will all change dramatically. And as we are learning, with few variations, each day here during the summer is pretty much like the one before it and the one after it.

A fourth generation Californian, I am used to repetition when it comes to summer weather. Unless you're in the desert (where it's over a hundred every day), along the coast and the valleys you get the morning low clouds and fog, clearing by midday, highs from the upper 60s at the beaches to the low 90s inland. Rarely each summer, and sometime never, did we ever have the type of storms that pound this tropical city each and every day. It is fascinating.

The first rumblings are usually heard in the distance as the storms form in the tropical forest mountain range that separates this Pacific coast city from the inland valleys. It's usually around 6:00PM. If we happen to be indoors and watching TV, the next indication of the pending deluge is that the picture goes out. The heavy rain, even before it hits the ground, blocks the signal from the satellite to the dish on our roof. That tells us that within one to two minutes, the clouds will open, the skies will turn white with streaks of light, and a storm, the likes of which would flood any town in California will make its daily visit to Puerto Vallarta.

Last night's storm was one of the best yet. Following a perfect day outside, we had come indoors, showered, and sat down to watch "60 Minutes." It wasn't particularly cloudy at that point, but at about 6:20, the TV picture began breaking up. Moments later, light brighter than a flash from a camera sliced across our den, and no more than a second after that, a deafening blast that sounded like a shotgun being discharged a few feet away split the air with a rumble that shook the windows, the furniture, and the building itself. For the next hour, we were treated to the most amazing lightning storm I've ever seen.

We saw one bolt strike a high rise hotel across the bay. But the most spectacular were three large bolts in quick succession which struck the bay just off the beach. A patch of water which took the direct hit turned fiery red upon impact.

With buckets of rain falling, we could look down onto city streets that were converted into rivers. Mud flows from the mountains choked small streams that flow into the bay, leaving a mosaic of brown haze as the currents carry the storm runoff in various directions throughout the bay. Even as I went to bed at 11:30, the sky was still ablaze with distant flashes.

And this morning, no sign of what was happening here just 12 hours ago. But it's almost a forgone conclusion that this evening, there will be a repeat, though it's unlikely it will be as massive as last night's.

I didn't take pictures of last night's lightning storm ... it was too fun just watching it. But I have edited some video of another storm from a couple of weeks back. If you'd like to see the video, click HERE.