Hurricane Simon Weakens to Category 3 While Skirting Mexico's Pacific Coast

Hurricane Simon moved slowly just offshore of west-central Mexico on Sunday, October 11, 2026, after reaching Category 4 strength with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. By evening it had weakened to Category 3 with winds near 120-130 mph. The National Hurricane Center reported the center about 45 to 55 miles south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes and roughly 105-125 miles west-northwest of Manzanillo, moving northwest at 5 mph.

The core continued to skirt the coast. Hurricane conditions were likely occurring in the warning area even though the eye remained offshore. A Hurricane Warning covered portions from Punta San Telmo to El Roblito and the Las Islas Marias. A Hurricane Watch extended farther north. Mexican authorities placed 28 municipalities in Jalisco and Colima under the highest cyclone alert and 93 more under high alert. The Port of Manzanillo shut down. About 100 families from Yelapa and Quimixto were evacuated by ferry to Puerto Vallarta.

The storm was expected to pass near the coast through Sunday evening before moving a little farther offshore on Monday, then turn back toward the coast around midweek. Additional rainfall of 10 to 20 inches was forecast over southwestern Mexico, with isolated totals up to 30 inches possible in Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco. The National Hurricane Center warned of life-threatening flooding and mudslides in steep terrain, plus dangerous storm surge and large swells.

One person died in Chilpancingo, Guerrero, when a stone wall collapsed onto a home. In Acapulco, 150 power poles came down, trees fell, 20 houses flooded and two people were injured. More than 65,000 customers in Guerrero lost power. An electrical substation in Puerto Marqués flooded and shut down. The system formed on October 7 south of Mexico and intensified rapidly.

Simon’s slow forward speed, rarely exceeding 10 km/h once it became a hurricane, prolonged the exposure of coastal communities to high winds and heavy rain. Mexican meteorological service director Fabian Vazquez said that even without a direct landfall, the intense cloud bands would still affect the coast, with waves up to 9 metres and exceptional rainfall. Residents in the warning area were told to shelter in safe rooms.

By late Sunday the storm showed signs of weakening linked to prolonged proximity to land and mountainous terrain. The National Hurricane Center forecast continued slow weakening but said Simon would remain a strong hurricane while near the coast. The track kept the most dangerous winds and rain close to populated areas including around Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo for an extended period.

Civil protection teams continued evacuations and preparations along the Pacific coast. The combination of Category 3-4 winds, extreme rainfall totals and a parallel track produced sustained hazardous conditions even as the center stayed just offshore. The single confirmed fatality in Guerrero and the power and structural damage there illustrated the inland effects of the outer bands. Further impacts depend on whether the system turns back toward land later in the week as forecast.