Major Hurricane Simon takes aim at Mexico's Jalisco coast

A powerhouse hurricane is taking aim at southwestern Mexico. Hurricane Simon strengthened into a major Category 3 storm on Friday night and is forecast to slam into the state of Jalisco on Sunday at Category 4 intensity, according to the National Hurricane Center.

"Catastrophic wind and life threatening storm surge impacts are likely along a portion of the west central coast of Mexico," the center said in its key messages. Simon's core is then expected to track over or near Puerto Vallarta later Sunday, a resort city of more than half a million people.

A hurricane warning is in effect from Punta San Telmo in the state of Michoacán to Punta Mita in Nayarit. Damaging winds and flooding rain are both likely along and near the track in southwest Mexico, and forecasters say up to 25 to 30 inches of rain could fall in the mountainous coastal areas, triggering dangerous landslides. General rainfall of 200 to 305 millimeters is expected, with isolated maxima far higher in parts of Colima and Michoacán.

Mexican authorities warned of heavy rainfall in the states of Guerrero, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Jalisco, and Colima. The state of Jalisco suspended classes and began evacuations in at risk areas, and the federal government opened shelters and deployed a coordination mission to the state.

This could be the strongest, most damaging hurricane to affect Puerto Vallarta in three years, since Hurricane Lidia downed trees, damaged roofs, and triggered landslides in and around the city in October 2023.

It is uncertain whether any of Simon's remnant moisture will make it into parts of the American Southwest or Plains in the week ahead, but forecasters say some of the moisture could stream into the central United States, boosting locally heavy rain Tuesday into Wednesday.