PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Simon hit Mexico’s Pacific coast as a Category 4 storm on Sunday, its eye remaining just offshore as its most powerful winds and rain hit people living between the Sierra Madre and the ocean.
Simon’s eye was moving north, just off the coast, and forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center said it was unclear whether it would make landfall. This could mean Simon retains its extremely dangerous strength, withstanding winds of 150 mph (240 km/h).
This is not good news for residents of the Puerto Vallarta area, a popular destination for American tourists. Just inland and upriver from resort areas, many Mexicans live in communities where housing might not withstand the storm.
At dawn, Simon was centered about 110 miles (175 kilometers) south-southeast of Cabo Corrientes and moving north-northwest at a relatively slow speed of 6 mph (9 km/h). Phillipe Pappin, senior hurricane center specialist, said this westernmost tip of mainland Mexico is the most likely place the hurricane will make landfall.
“Simon is very close to the Mexican coast this morning,” Pappin told The Associated Press on Sunday.
“We expect catastrophic winds and life-threatening storm surges along the west central coast of Mexico, where the hurricane warning is currently in effect,” Pappin said. “They are also receiving very heavy rain associated with the storm that will likely produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides in areas of higher terrain along the Mexican coast, and there will be significant swells.”
As for predicting whether Simon will make landfall or not, “it’s a little difficult to predict at the moment” because the eye is currently “moving very close to or parallel to the coast,” Pappin said. But he predicted that Cabo Corrientes would be the area most likely to be directly hit by the system on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the hurricane dumped rain on parts of southwest Mexico. It could bring 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain to many places, some areas of the states of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco receiving up to 30 inches (76 centimeters). “This rainfall will cause potentially life-threatening flooding and mudslides, particularly in areas of steep terrain,” the center warned.
State of Jalisco suspended classes on Friday and Monday in 22 coastal municipalities and began evacuating people from risk areas while asking the tourism sector to ensure that workers as well as visitors are fully accommodated in shelters or safe areas.
On Saturday, just before the worst weather hit, convenience stores, hotels and other businesses in Puerto Vallarta boarded up their windows.
The hurricane center is expecting dangerous storm surge along the immediate coast, near and east of where the center makes landfall. The agency warned that near the coast, large and destructive waves would accompany the surge.
Canadian tourist Ed Currie, who still has five days with his wife to enjoy Puerto Vallarta, said the hurricane has not yet affected his plans.
“Just stay in the hotel and look out the window, I hope,” he said of what the couple would do. “I just don’t know what to expect.”
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