Some local folks were overjoyed last weekend over the unexpected arrival of rainfall. In truth, it was nothing more than some light sprinkling detected in some isolated Chapala neighborhoods, lasting no more than 15 minutes.

But it caused rays of hope that the rainy season is finally on the horizon.

It isn’t unusual for few sudden downpours to occur during May, though the actual onset summer rains isn’t expected until the latter half of June.

A full-fledged storm could roll into the Lakeside area within the coming week as Alvin, the year’s first tropical storm, churns northward along Mexico’s Pacific coast. Weather forecasters are saying it could build into a Category 2 hurricane, with peak winds reaching 165 kilometers per hour as is brushes coastal areas through the states of Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima, Jalisco, Sinaloa, Sonora and Baja California before the end of the month.

Alvin could be the harbinger of cooler weather soon to come, and relief from the heat wave that is now scorching most of the nation.

The Pacific Ocean Hurricane Season officially begins on May 15, continuing until November 30. The corresponding dates for the Atlantic are June 1 through November 30.

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