Category 4 Hurricane Simon nears Mexico with 30 inches of rain
What's next: Landfall was forecast late Oct. 10 or early Oct. 11 near Mexico's west-central Pacific coast, with storm surge and mudslides threatening coastal and mountain areas.
Hurricane Simon strengthened into a Category 4 storm off Mexico's Pacific coast on Oct. 10 as forecasters warned of destructive winds, storm surge and life-threatening flooding before landfall. The US National Hurricane Center said Simon was about 185 km south-southwest of Manzanillo with sustained winds of 240 kph, moving northward toward Mexico's west-central coast. A hurricane warning covered parts of the coast south of Puerto Vallarta, including Manzanillo, while a tropical storm watch extended south toward Lazaro Cardenas. Forecasters said Simon could dump 25 cm to 51 cm of rain through Oct. 11, with isolated totals up to 76 cm in Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco, raising the risk of mudslides and washed-out roads.