SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Tijuana should be ready for low temperatures and rain in the coming months as a result of the weather phenomenon known as El Niño, according to Miguel Ángel Ceballos Ramírez, the city’s civil protection director.
Ceballos Ramírez told a panel of city leaders to expect wet weather and below average temperatures through the end of April 2024.
He did say the expected rain should not be “torrential storms” that have devastated the region in past years.
According to the civil protection agency, its staff is already monitoring “high risk” areas that could face issues in the event of a lot of rain.
Local and state governments are also getting ready for El Niño “preparing the region before the rains get here,” which includes clearing canyons and storm drains of debris to prevent flooding.
“We’ll do the prevention work, we know rains are coming and we know we have to be prepared,” said Miguel Ángel Bujanda Ruiz, Tijuana’s city manager. “We have to be ready for any type of disaster.
Right now, according to both Bujanda Ruiz and Ceballos Ramírez, they are also focused on the Santa Ana Winds blowing through the area this week.
These are dry wind patterns, that come from the east and south, have been known to fuel devastating fires on both sides of the border.
Twenty years ago, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County burned 273,246 acres and destroyed 2,820 structures, killing 15 people including a firefighter.
