Snow in Mexico

 One of the misconceptions that people have about Mexico is that it is always warm and sunny which is far from true.  Sure, at the beaches it can be mighty hot and humid, but this is a huge country and much of it is mountainous.  We had a killing frost a couple of years ago and it gets close to freezing on many nights in certain areas.  The thing to note is that houses do not have heat and some are open to the elements, sometimes with no closeable doors or windows.  They are never air-tight like in New England.  People build fires inside, but then the threat of carbon dioxide poisoning becomes real.

from LAHD

The Mexican government declared an emergency in 21 municipalities in the northern state of Chihuahua due to heavy snow and a cold wave blamed for six deaths there.

Federal officials said that the measure, which was requested by the Chihuahua government, will allow authorities to access resources within the national emergency fund to cover food, clothing and health care needs among the affected population.

Salvador Echavarria Campos, a meteorologist with Chihuahua’s UEPC civil defense agency, said that the lowest temperature registered Thursday morning was minus 11 C (12 F) in the municipality of Bocoyna, in the state’s mountainous region.

On Tuesday, UEPC director Luis Lujan Peña confirmed that the snow had cut off some 150 communities in the Sierra Tarahumara mountains.

So far, official figures are that six people have died in Chihuahua and two others in the western state of Michoacan from causes linked to the low temperatures.

Stay warm, mis amig@s.