Hurricane Simon approaches Mexico with 155 mph winds and fears of flooding: NPR
Workers place sandbags in front of a restaurant as Hurricane Simon approaches Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Saturday, October 10, 2026.
Fernando Llano/AP
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Fernando Llano/AP
PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico — The eye of Hurricane Simon was just off Mexico’s Pacific coast early Sunday and was expected to move inland later today as an extremely powerful storm.
Simon strengthened to 155 mph (250 km/h), just below the threshold for becoming a Category 5 storm, the highest on the Saffir Simpson scale. It was about 100 kilometers west-southwest of Manzanilla and moving north-northwest at a speed of 9 km/h.
The hurricane could bring 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 cm) of rain to parts of southwest Mexico, with 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.
The state of Jalisco suspended classes Friday and Monday in 22 coastal municipalities and began evacuating dozens of people from risk areas. He also asked the tourism sector in Puerto Vallarta, a popular destination for American tourists, to ensure that workers and visitors are fully accommodated in shelters or safe areas.
Convenience stores, hotels and other businesses in Puerto Vallarta boarded up their windows Saturday, and few walked the streets under overcast skies.
“Let’s hope this doesn’t hit us, right? Let it not affect us,” Jesús Gómez said as he stood outside a store and handed out free samples of candied peanuts to passersby. “We will work as usual all day, but when the civil protection officials come to tell us that we have to close, we will close and shelter in place until the storm passes.”
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, hopefully,” he said of what the couple would do. “I just don’t know what to expect.”
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