PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Simon slammed Mexico’s Pacific coast as a Category 4 storm Sunday, its eye remaining just offshore as its strongest winds and rains hit people living between the Sierra Madre and the ocean.
The center of the hurricane swirled parallel to the coast, approaching the Puerto Vallarta area, where the most damaging winds and rain are expected to strike around midnight and continue through Monday morning. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said it was unclear whether it would make landfall, which could allow it to maintain its dangerous strength, sustaining winds of 140 mph (220 kph).
This is not good news for residents of Puerto Vallarta and surrounding areas, a popular tourist destination in the state of Jalisco. Just inland and upriver from resort areas, many Mexicans live in communities where housing might not withstand the storm.
Sunday midday, Simon’s eye was moving about 100 kilometers from Cabo Corrientes at about 11 km/h. Phillipe Pappin, senior hurricane center specialist, said this westernmost tip of mainland Mexico is the area most likely to be hit directly by the system. Cabo Corrientes sits on the southern tip of Bahia de Banderas, the wide bay where Puerto Vallarta overlooks the Pacific.
Waves hit the beachfront as Hurricane Simon approaches Mexico’s Pacific coast, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to Manzanillo, Mexico October 11, 2026. Photo by Daniel Becerril/Reuters.
Hurricane-force winds extend up to 25 miles (35 kilometers) and tropical storm-force winds reach up to 80 miles (130 kilometers) from Simon’s center, meaning the entire area between Mexico’s west coast and the Sierra Madre Mountains could be affected.
“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.”
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, with some areas in the states of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco receiving up to 30 inches (76 centimeters).
As the storm approached Puerto Vallarta, National Guard vehicles patrolled the streets while police used a megaphone to call out to the few people jogging, walking their dogs or riding bikes along the water’s edge. Officers reminded people the area was closed and urged them to take shelter. Not everyone followed orders.
The state of Jalisco suspended classes Friday and Monday in 22 coastal municipalities and began evacuating people from risk areas while asking the tourism sector to ensure workers and visitors are fully housed in shelters or safe areas.
On Sunday, on the social platform She also asked people to follow the recommendations of civil protection officials and avoid traveling on public roads.
“Preventative evacuation efforts to safe areas continue; the priority is our safety,” she wrote.
Hotel employee Víctor Martínez went shopping for non-perishable goods on Sunday afternoon. He said he could not get to work because public transport service was suspended and most of the hotel had been evacuated.
Martínez found people’s concerns about the hurricane comforting.
“This has happened to us before. It hit us years ago,” Martínez said, referring to a Category 5 hurricane that hit the area in 2002. “People didn’t expect it. We were very skeptical that it would ever hit us. But now we are different. Precautions are being taken. It happened to us once, and we won’t let it happen again.”
Despite the risks posed by Simon, tourists still arrived in Puerto Vallarta.
Visitors Ricardo Ramírez and Brenda Villarreal, who have never experienced a hurricane, went looking for food on the city boardwalk and encountered police urging people to take shelter. Ramírez said they were completely unprepared for this situation.
“The boardwalk is closed. Be responsible. Understand!” » Police told passers-by using a megaphone.
Ramírez said he and Villarreal had been planning their four-day vacation since last year and had come from Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco.
“We don’t yet know the extent of the danger,” Villarreal said. “We’re just starting to see what’s happening.”
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