The “Snake” that became a trend: chaos and memes in the heights of Chiapas
Imagine this: you are in the peace of your home, in one of the most Instagrammable cities in Mexico, probably uploading a story with one of those filters that gives you the northern lights, and suddenly… the sky becomes dramatic, but not in an aesthetic way. This is how the inhabitants of San Cristóbal de las Casas experienced the passage of what they colloquially call a “snake”, but which experts, with all their seriousness, call a minor classification tornado. Spoiler: the result was less ‘Twister’ and more ‘really? Now?’.
The meteorological phenomenon, which sounded more like a character in a realistic magical story than a scientific event, left a preliminary balance that sounds bad: 77 damaged homes, 25 trees that decided to take a horizontal nap on the ground, two cars that now have an “abstract” texture and four schools that woke up like swimming pools without chlorine. Classes at institutions such as Technical Secondary School 66 and “31 de Marzo” elementary school were suspended, essentially giving students an unrequested but probably celebrated day off.
Multi-agency operation: when everyone comes together for the climate drama
The response was as coordinated as a K-pop group making a comeback. About 250 Civil Protection elements were deployed from various locations, including Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Teopisca and Comitán de Domínguez. As if that were not enough, the brigades of the Ministry of National Defense, the Secretary of Health and, of course, the always heroic Firefighters joined the party. Governor Ramírez Aguilar did not want to miss the event and went to San Cristóbal to supervise the damage and, I quote, “guarantee the civil protection and tranquility of the population.” In other words, the crisis-management mode was activated to the maximum.
We worked jointly with the city council, the Mexican Army, the CFE and others, in an effort to restore normality in a city that is usually more famous for its coffee and culture than for its extreme weather events. Because nothing says “tranquility” like watching a funnel cloud pass by your window.
“Snake” or tornado? The scientific-folkloric debate of the century
Here’s the kicker: locals call these gusts of wind that hit the city after noon “snakes.” It sounds cute, doesn’t it? But experts, being the killjoys of adorable terminology, clarify that, in reality, it is a tornado. Its technical name is simply tornado. Although low in intensity, the phenomenon was powerful enough to cause damage and generate a cloudy funnel that, fortunately, did not represent a major danger… but the gusts did do their thing.
It turns out that these events are not that unusual in the region. San Cristóbal, located about 2,100 meters above sea level, has a geography and atmospheric conditions that favor the interaction of hot and humid air on the surface with cold air at altitude, creating the perfect combo for these climatic surprises. Basically, the city is the scene of an epic battle between air masses, and sometimes the citizens are the extras that fly away in the credits.
As authorities continue with the damage assessment record and needs analysis, life is trying to return to normal. Or whatever it looks like now. The lesson here is that nature always has an ace up its sleeve, even in the most picturesque and seemingly peaceful places. And that, sometimes, a “snake” turns out to be a tornado with a more folkloric name, reminding us that climate change is not coming to play.
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