Here comes Dean… right for Veracruz.

We just got word that there will be no classes or work for the next two days due to Dean’s arrival. That means we’re battening down the hatches and stocking up for a hurricane party. It is eerily still outside, but every now and then a strong gust of wind shakes the banana tree and rattles the windows. The sky is clear and blue in the front yard, but in the backyard there is a solid wall of black clouds. I love a good storm.

The real “danger” to Xalapa is not so much because of the hurricane itself, but rather because of the incredible amount of rain we’re supposed to receive. They say we may get up to 1000 millimeters, that’s 39 inches, of rain in the next week. So we bought plenty of food, rented a few movies and are ready to curl up and bear the storm.

TabascoHOY says that the National Hurricane Center predicts that Dean will hit Wednesday (tomorrow) between Veracruz and Tuxpan with winds between 125 miles per hour and 149 miles per hour. They predict that it will reach category 3 before it hits.
But no one is really concerned. About five years ago a hurricane was supposed to run smack into Xalapa. Everyone boarded up their windows, bought plenty of canned food and prepared for the worst. Nothing happened, apart from a lot of rain. So we wish el Puerto and our friends over in Villa Rica the best.

Another gust of wind just slammed the window shut. I guess that means it’s time to close the rest of the windows and settle in for the night.