Hurricane Simon remained a powerful Category 4 storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast on Saturday evening, threatening west-central coastal communities with destructive winds, storm surge, extreme rainfall, flooding and landslides. The U.S. National Hurricane Center’s 6 p.m. Central Standard Time advisory placed the center about 85 miles, or 135 kilometers, south-southwest of Manzanillo.
The official bulletin said Simon had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, or 240 km/h, and a minimum central pressure of 932 millibars. The storm was moving slowly north at about 3 mph, or 6 km/h. The NHC urged preparations to protect life and property to be completed before conditions deteriorated overnight.
Hurricane warning along the Pacific coast
A hurricane warning covered a broad section of Mexico’s west-central Pacific coast, including areas near Manzanillo and the Islas Marías archipelago. Simon was forecast to approach the coast as a major hurricane late Saturday or early Sunday and be near or just inland on Sunday. Forecasts can change as a storm’s track and internal structure evolve, so residents were directed to follow the latest official bulletins.
Reuters reported that civil-protection teams closed beaches, installed barriers and raised warning flags around Manzanillo. Marines, soldiers, National Guard personnel and emergency crews were deployed to locations vulnerable to flooding and landslides. Precautionary evacuations began in parts of Cihuatlán, a flood-prone municipality in neighboring Jalisco state.
Businesses in Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta boarded windows or closed as the storm approached, according to Reuters and the Associated Press. Streets became quieter, rainfall began intermittently and rising seas pushed waves toward beachfront properties. No landfall deaths were reported in the cited coverage at the time of research.
Up to 30 inches of rain possible
The National Hurricane Center forecast 10 to 20 inches, or roughly 25 to 51 centimeters, of rain across parts of southwestern Mexico through Sunday. Isolated totals could reach 30 inches, or about 76 centimeters, in parts of Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco. Such rainfall could produce life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides, particularly in mountainous terrain and communities near swollen rivers.
A dangerous storm surge was also expected near and east of the point where Simon’s center crosses the coast. Large and destructive waves could accompany the surge, while swells generated by the hurricane were forecast to create hazardous surf and rip currents along sections of the southwestern and west-central coast.
Mexico’s authorities warned of heavy rainfall in Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima, Jalisco and nearby areas. Emergency preparations focused not only on the immediate coastline but also on inland slopes and river basins, where flooding and landslides may continue after the strongest winds have passed.
Rapid intensification raised the risk
Simon strengthened quickly from a weaker tropical system into a Category 4 hurricane. The NHC’s advisories showed sustained winds reaching 150 mph during Saturday, while aircraft and satellite observations were used to assess the compact storm. Rapid intensification reduces the time available for communities to secure property or move to shelters.
Manzanillo is Mexico’s largest Pacific port, making the storm important for both public safety and commercial transport. Port closures, damaged roads or power interruptions could affect cargo movements even if the hurricane’s center crosses a less populated stretch of coast.
Residents and visitors were advised to use NHC, Mexican civil-protection and local-authority updates rather than social-media forecasts. The critical risks were not limited to the exact track of the eye: rain bands, surge and high surf could affect communities well away from the center before, during and after landfall.
