Hurricane Simon strengthens into Category 4 storm as it takes aim at Mexico
Simon has strengthened into a powerful Category 4 hurricane as it barrels toward Mexico's Pacific coast.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Saturday that Simon's maximum sustained winds increased to 155 miles per hour.
The hurricane center said it expects Simon to approach Mexico's west-central coast on Sunday as a major hurricane, which is defined as a Category 3 storm or stronger, with winds of at least 111 mph.
Simon on Saturday night was just below a Category 5 classification, which requires maximum sustained winds of 157 mph. Forecasters said that Simon could weaken rapidly if its core moves fully onshore once it makes landfall.
The hurricane could bring as much as 10 to 20 inches of rain over parts of southwestern Mexico, with some areas in the states of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco receiving up to 30 inches.
"This rainfall will produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain," the center warned in a bulletin that also urged residents to take immediate action to prepare as tropical storm conditions arrived Saturday afternoon.
According to the hurricane center, Simon was about 65 miles south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, on Saturday and moving slowly northward at 5 mph.
"Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion in the hurricane warning area before conditions deteriorate later tonight," the hurricane center warned.
Jalisco state suspended classes on Monday in 22 coastal municipalities and began evacuating dozens of people from at-risk areas. It also asked the tourism sector in Puerto Vallarta, a popular destination for U.S. tourists, to ensure that both workers and visitors were fully accommodated in shelters or safe zones by Friday afternoon.
Convenience stores, hotels and other businesses in Puerto Vallarta were boarding up their windows Saturday morning, when few were walking the streets under overcast skies.
"Let's hope it doesn't hit us, right? That it doesn't affect us," Jesús Gómez said as he stood outside a shop and handed out free samples of candied peanuts to passersby. "We'll be working as usual throughout the day, but when Civil Protection officials come and tell us we need to close, then we'll close and take shelter until the storm passes."
The hurricane center expected a dangerous storm surge "along the immediate coast near and to the east of where the center makes landfall." The agency warned that near the coast, large and destructive waves will accompany the surge.
Meanwhile, Canadian tourist Ed Currie, who along with his wife still has five more days to enjoy Puerto Vallarta, said the hurricane had not yet affected his plans.
"Just stay in the hotel and look out the window hopefully," he said of what the couple would do Saturday. "I just don't know what to expect."
Unlike the Atlantic, which saw just its first named hurricane of the season this week with Isaias, the Pacific season has been very active. Simon's arrival comes on the heels of Polo, which slammed Mexico last week as a Category 2 hurricane before reaching the southwestern U.S. and bringing heavy flooding to the region.
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