Hurricane Simon has been pounding Mexico’s Pacific coast as a Category 4 storm.
The hurricane’s eye remained just offshore as its most powerful winds and rain impacted people living between the Sierra Madre and the ocean.
The hurricane’s centre swirled parallel to the coast, closing in on the Puerto Vallarta area, where its most damaging winds and rain were expected to hit around midnight and continue through Monday morning.
Its maximum sustained winds weakened on Sunday to 130mph, according to the US National Hurricane Centere in Miami, but it was still expected to remain a dangerous hurricane.
That is not good news for people in the Puerto Vallarta area, a popular tourist destination in the state of Jalisco. Just inland and uphill from the resort areas, many Mexicans live in communities where housing might not stand up to the storm.
By midday on Sunday, Simon’s eye was moving within about 65 miles of Cabo Corrientes at about 7mph. A senior hurricane centre specialist, Phillipe Pappin, said this westernmost tip of mainland Mexico is the area most likely to get a direct hit from the system.
Cabo Corrientes is at the southern tip of Bahia de Banderas, the wide bay where Puerto Vallarta looks out to the Pacific.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 25 miles, and tropical-storm-force winds reach up to 80 miles from Simon’s centre, meaning the entire area between Mexico’s western coast and the Sierra Madre mountains could be affected.
“We’re expecting catastrophic wind and life-threatening storm surge impacts along that west central coast of Mexico where the hurricane warning is currently in effect,” Mr Pappin said.
“They’re also getting very heavy rainfall associated with the storm that’s likely going to produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides in areas of higher terrain along the Mexican coastline, and there will be significant swells.”
3 PM CST Sun Oct 11 (Advisory 18) Key Messages for Hurricane #Simon. Latest info: https://t.co/NyUGSIFCuo
3 PM CST domingo 11 de octubre (Aviso 18) Mensajes clave sobre el huracán #Simon. Más información: https://t.co/NyUGSIFCuo pic.twitter.com/HL2hz5CcTg
— NHC Pacific (@NHC_Pacific) October 11, 2026
Meanwhile, the hurricane was dumping rain over parts of south-western Mexico.
It could bring 10 to 20 inches of rain in many places, with some areas in the states of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco receiving up to 30 inches.
As the storm approached Puerto Vallarta, National Guard vehicles patrolled the streets while police used a megaphone to call out to the few people who were jogging, walking their dogs or cycling by the waterfront. Officers reminded people that the area was closed and urged them to take shelter.
The state of Jalisco suspended classes on Friday and Monday in 22 coastal municipalities and began evacuating people from at-risk areas while asking the tourism sector to make sure workers as well as visitors are fully accommodated in shelters or safe zones.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum took to social media platform X on Sunday to urge people in Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Michoacan to stay sheltered until the government issues a notification that the danger has passed.
She also asked people to follow recommendations from civil protection officials and to avoid travelling on public roads.
“Precautionary evacuation efforts to safe zones are ongoing; the priority is our safety,” she wrote.
Despite the risks posed by Simon, tourists were still arriving in Puerto Vallarta.
Visitors Ricardo Ramirez and Brenda Villarreal, who have never lived through a hurricane, went looking for food by the city’s boardwalk and came across police urging people to take shelter. Mr Ramirez said they were completely unprepared for the situation.
“The boardwalk is closed. Be responsible. Understand!” police told passersby using a megaphone.
Mr Ramirez said he and Ms Villarreal had planned their four-day holiday since last year and travelled from Guadalajara, Jalisco’s capital.
“We don’t know the extent of the danger yet,” Mr Villarreal said. “We’re just starting to see what’s going on.”
