Hurricane Simon hovers off Mexico's Pacific coast as a Category 3 storm

Hurricane Simon spent Sunday grinding along Mexico's Pacific coast as a dangerous Category 3 storm, its eye staying just offshore while its most powerful winds and rain slammed communities between the Sierra Madre mountains and the sea.

As of late Sunday the storm packed maximum sustained winds of 115 mph and was moving northwest at just 5 mph, centered about 45 miles southwest of Cabo Corrientes at the southern tip of the Bay of Banderas. The U.S. National Hurricane Center warned that hurricane conditions were likely already occurring inside the warning area and would spread northward through Monday.

The heaviest blow was expected around midnight Sunday into Monday morning near Puerto Vallarta, the resort city looking out over the bay. Just inland from the resorts, many Mexicans live in hillside communities where housing may not stand up to the storm.

Heavy rain flooded homes and streets in Manzanillo on Sunday, where soldiers helped affected families. Twenty eight municipalities in Jalisco and Colima were under the highest cyclone alert level, with 93 more under high alert.

Airports stayed shut. Puerto Vallarta International was scheduled to remain closed to all operations until Tuesday morning, and Manzanillo's airport until Monday morning. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged residents of Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan and Nayarit to stay sheltered until officials declare the danger past, warning that a sudden lull could be deceptive.

Simon had been a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds earlier Sunday before weakening slightly. Forecasters expect it to remain a hurricane for days, turning inland across west central Mexico around midweek.