Hurricane Simon hits vulnerable resorts and towns along Mexico’s Pacific coast: 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 — Hurricane Simon slammed into Mexico’s Pacific coast as a Category 3 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. Its maximum sustained winds weakened Sunday to 120 mph (195 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, but it is still expected to remain a dangerous hurricane.

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.

As of Sunday afternoon, Simon’s eye was moving northwest about 75 kilometers south of Cabo Corrientes at about 5 mph (7 km/h). Philippe Papin, 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.

According to forecasters, powerful winds will sweep the west coast of Mexico up to the Sierra Madre.

Hurricane-force winds extend up to 30 kilometers outward and tropical-storm-force winds reach up to 95 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,” Papin 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.”