Hurricane Simon reached Category 4 off Mexico’s Pacific coast early Saturday. Airlines cancelled every commercial flight scheduled that day at Manzanillo International Airport as authorities prepared coastal communities for the storm. The airport operator, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), said general aviation and navy flights could continue if weather permitted. It gave no date for commercial service to resume.
Coastal Services Shut Down
At midnight local time Saturday, Simon sat about 140 miles south of Manzanillo in Colima state, moving north at about 5 mph. Its winds neared 140 mph, and its minimum central pressure measured 945 millibars. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that catastrophic winds and life-threatening storm surge threatened part of Mexico’s west-central coast.
A hurricane warning covered the coast from Punta San Telmo to Punta Mita, including Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta. A separate hurricane watch stretched north from Punta Mita to El Roblito on the Nayarit coast, including the offshore Islas Marías.
Jalisco’s civil protection unit said non-essential activity on the state’s coast would stop from 5 p.m. Saturday. That suspension covered public transport and petrol stations. Sergio Ramírez López, who heads the unit, urged people in risk zones to follow authorities’ instructions.
Puerto Vallarta opened five temporary shelters, mostly in schools and university buildings, and said it might open more. Authorities had evacuated about 500 people in Cabo Corrientes, the coastal municipality south of the city. Officials had not released a full count of coastal evacuations.
Several Puerto Vallarta hotels suspended weekend bookings, El Informador reported. Jalisco’s civil protection unit asked families and tourists to reconsider coastal trips and contact their airline, hotel or agency. The article gave no date for flights to resume.
Warnings and State Response
The NHC forecast 10 to 20 inches of rain in southwestern Mexico, with up to 30 inches locally. It warned that life-threatening floods and mudslides could hit Michoacán, Colima, Jalisco and Nayarit through Sunday. The exact landfall point and time, Simon’s strength near the coast, and the need for additional watches or warnings remained uncertain.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said the armed forces had started preventive operations and urged people in vulnerable areas to move to temporary shelters, El Informador reported. The government activated the preventive phase of the army’s disaster-relief plan, DN-III-E, and the navy’s Plan Marina. Laura Velázquez Alzúa, head of Mexico’s federal civil protection agency, said command centres would be established in Jalisco and Colima, Infobae reported.
The NHC expected Simon to keep moving north through the weekend. Its centre could reach the west-central coast or move just inland later Saturday or Sunday. The Friday evening forecast discussion showed a possible peak of about 155 mph by Saturday evening. Forecasters said Simon might move inland over Colima and Jalisco or stay offshore; the forecast favoured landfall and rapid weakening over the mountains.
Forecasts and Market Bets
Simon’s hurricane-force winds reached about 15 miles from its centre, while tropical-storm-force winds reached about 80 miles. The NHC expected further rapid strengthening during the following day or so. If the centre stayed offshore, Simon would likely retain hurricane strength longer; the forecast said it could dissipate by early next week if it moved inland and weakened over the mountains.
On Kalshi, a U.S. exchange regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, bettors put Simon’s chance of reaching Category 5 at 61% at 2:14 a.m. ET on Oct. 10, up from 14% a day earlier. The contract pays only if maximum sustained winds reach 157 mph or more. About 11,200 contracts had changed hands across five Simon strength bets, each paying US$1 if correct.
The U.S. State Department rates Colima at Level 4, “Do not travel,” and Jalisco at Level 3, “Reconsider travel,” citing terrorism, crime and kidnapping. Its May 29 advisory limits travel in Colima to central Manzanillo’s tourist and port areas and sets no restrictions for Puerto Vallarta. Mexican civil protection authorities continued directing residents in risk areas toward shelters as Simon approached.