Simón went from Category 4 to Category 3 on Sunday night and was moving parallel to the Pacific coast (La Jornada, Enfoque Noticias, Reuters). Infobae placed it in the early hours 75 kilometers from Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco. El Comercio and ADN 40 reported that the probability of landfall had dropped; Reuters warned that, even without a direct impact, there is storm surge and damaging winds. Sheinbaum asked people to stay home (Reuters, Infobae). In Puerto Vallarta there are 1,500 military personnel, closed beaches and waves of up to 10 meters expected (Infobae), and the airport will stay closed until Tuesday (El Economista). Rain flooded homes on the coast (Reuters, CNN en Español). In Escuinapa, Sinaloa, the municipal Civil Protection coordinator was shot dead during hurricane-related operations (Infobae, El Universal). Rachel left one dead, seven missing and more than 200 rescues in Baja California (El Universal, El Financiero).
A lower category does not mean less danger: water, not wind, causes a good part of the deaths in a cyclone. A slow hurricane that lingers off the coast drops rain for more hours on hills and rivers, which raises the risk of floods and landslides.
If you live or travel on the coast of Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit, Michoacán or Sinaloa, follow only SMN and Civil Protection notices, locate your temporary shelter, do not go near the sea or the seafront promenade and avoid coastal highways. If you have a flight to Puerto Vallarta, check with your airline first: the airport will be closed at least until Tuesday.
The authorities say the deployment of troops, the shelters and the preventive closures remain necessary while the cyclone is nearby.
Authorities and media remind us that the danger does not end when the eye moves away: accumulated rain and swell can cause damage even without landfall.
What matters today is the next SMN bulletin, not the category number. If Simón moves away, the risk shifts to rivers and hillsides; if it turns toward the coast, everything changes. We will watch the Puerto Vallarta airport, this week’s rains and the investigation into the killing in Escuinapa.
La Jornada · Enfoque Noticias · Reuters · Infobae · El Economista · El Universal · El Financiero · CNN en Español · El Comercio (11–12/10)
Simón weakens to Category 3 and moves parallel to the Pacific coast with no confirmed landfall; homes are flooded and the Puerto Vallarta airport will stay closed until Tuesday
The hurricane that was expected to make landfall on Sunday spent the night off Jalisco. The authorities insist that the risk lies in the rain and the swell, not only in the wind.
Simón dropped from a Category 4 hurricane to Category 3 on Sunday night, La Jornada, Enfoque Noticias and Reuters reported, and was moving parallel to the Pacific coast. In the early hours, Infobae placed it 75 kilometers from Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, still as a Category 3. El Comercio and ADN 40 noted that the probability of landfall had decreased, but Reuters recalled that, even without a direct hit, the coast faces storm surge, destructive waves and damaging winds. In other words, the impact that the weekend forecasts anticipated had not been confirmed in the latest reports reviewed, although the rain has already flooded homes (Reuters, CNN en Español).
President Claudia Sheinbaum asked coastal residents to stay home (Reuters, Infobae). In Puerto Vallarta, 1,500 military personnel have been deployed, beaches are closed and waves of up to 10 meters were expected (Infobae); the streets were left empty (El Universal), and Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico extended the airport closure until Tuesday because of the cyclone’s slow advance and increasing rain (El Economista). Separately, and unrelated to the weather, the municipal Civil Protection coordinator of Escuinapa, Sinaloa, was shot dead while taking part in hurricane-related operations, according to Infobae and El Universal, which counts him as the fifth official killed in Sinaloa this year; the state prosecutor’s office is investigating and those responsible have not been identified.
In the northwest, Tropical Storm Rachel left one dead, seven missing and more than 200 rescues in Baja California, with more than 300 reports of flooding, sinkholes and collapsed buildings (El Universal); El Financiero also counted seven people unaccounted for. Conagua reported that Rachel was downgraded to a remnant low with its center over the United States (El Universal), and La Jornada describes it as a post-tropical cyclone. The week will stay rainy: a cold front and tropical wave 43 will add to the effects of Simón, El Financiero and Meteored warn. For anyone living or traveling on the Pacific coast: follow only notices from the SMN and Civil Protection, stay away from the seafront promenade and the sea (El Universal saw tourists doing so despite the warnings) and check with your airline before flying.