Hurricane Simon reaches Category 4 off Mexico coast

Hurricane Simon reached Category 4 strength over the Pacific on Saturday, October 10, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph as it approached Mexico’s west-central coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm’s forecast path and potential impacts prompted warnings and preparations, but the reports available by Sunday did not confirm landfall or resulting damage. The hurricane center said Simon was about 115 miles south-southwest of Manzanillo on Saturday morning and moving north. It forecast that the storm would approach the coast as a major hurricane late Saturday or early Sunday, October 10-11. The center said some additional strengthening was possible before landfall. A hurricane warning was in effect for parts of Mexico’s Pacific coast south of Puerto Vallarta, including the Manzanillo area and the Islas Marias archipelago. A tropical storm watch extended farther south toward Lazaro Cardenas. The hurricane center urged residents in the warning area to complete preparations to protect life and property. In Puerto Vallarta, people boarded up a shop, placed sandbags outside a restaurant and covered a boat as Simon approached on Saturday.