Hurricane Simon reached Category 4 off Mexico’s Pacific coast early Saturday, packing winds near 140 mph (220 km/h), the US National Hurricane Center said. A hurricane warning covered the coast from Punta San Telmo to Punta Mita, including Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta. Mexican authorities activated emergency measures and urged people in vulnerable areas to head to shelters.
Storm Track and Warnings
At midnight local time Saturday, or 2 a.m. ET, Simon’s centre sat about 140 miles (225 km) south of Manzanillo in Colima state and about 245 miles (395 km) from Cabo Corrientes, the headland at the southern edge of Puerto Vallarta’s bay. It was moving north at about 5 mph (7 km/h), with minimum central pressure of 945 millibars.
Category 4 ranks second-highest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale used by U.S. forecasters. Simon’s hurricane-force winds reached about 15 miles (30 km) from its centre; tropical-storm-force winds stretched about 80 miles (130 km). The NHC warned that catastrophic wind and life-threatening storm surge could hit part of Mexico’s west-central coast.
Forecasters expected Simon to strengthen rapidly over the following day or so. In its Friday evening forecast discussion, the NHC projected peak winds of about 155 mph (250 km/h) by Saturday evening. 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 Saturday, up from 14% a day earlier. The Category 5 contract pays out only if maximum sustained winds reach 157 mph or more. Traders had exchanged about 11,200 contracts across Kalshi’s five Simon strength bets, each paying US$1 if correct.
The NHC expected Simon to keep moving north through the weekend, bringing its centre near or just inland of the west-central coast later Saturday or Sunday. Forecasters said they couldn’t tell whether Simon would move inland over Colima and Jalisco or remain offshore. Their forecast favoured landfall and rapid weakening over the mountains, with dissipation by early next week; if the centre stayed offshore, Simon would likely retain hurricane strength longer.
A hurricane watch ran north from Punta Mita to El Roblito on the Nayarit coast and included the offshore Islas Marías. The exact landfall point and time, the storm’s strength near the coast, and the need for additional watches or warnings remained uncertain.
Emergency Measures and Disruptions
The NHC forecast 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 cm) of rain in southwestern Mexico, with up to 30 inches (76 cm) locally. It warned that life-threatening floods and mudslides could hit Michoacán, Colima, Jalisco and Nayarit through Sunday.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said the armed forces had begun 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 open in Jalisco and Colima, Infobae reported.
Jalisco’s civil protection unit said non-essential activity along the state’s coast would stop from 5 p.m. Saturday, including public transport and petrol stations. Sergio Ramírez López, the unit’s head, 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. About 500 people had left Cabo Corrientes, the coastal municipality south of the city.
Travel and Public Guidance
Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, which operates Manzanillo International Airport, said airlines had cancelled all commercial flights scheduled for Saturday. The airport remained open for general aviation and navy flights if weather permitted, but officials gave no restart date. Several Puerto Vallarta hotels had suspended weekend bookings, El Informador reported.
Jalisco’s civil protection unit asked families and tourists to reconsider coastal trips for the weekend and contact their airline, hotel or agency. Officials hadn’t provided a full count of coastal evacuees or a date for flights to resume. The US 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. The article advised travellers to follow Mexican civil protection instructions, check with airlines and hotels, and monitor NHC and Mexican weather service updates.