Mexico: Category 4 Simon Grinds Along the Jalisco Coast; Puerto Vallarta Airport Closed Until at Least Monday Morning

October 11, 2026 — Hurricane Simon was still a Category 4 storm on Sunday morning, with its core about 60 miles west of Manzanillo and creeping north-northwest along Mexico’s Jalisco coast. Puerto Vallarta’s airport is closed until at least 8:00 am Monday, Manzanillo has no commercial flights, and intercity buses to the coast are suspended. Tropical Storm Rachel has come ashore in northern Baja California and broken up.

This updates our October 10 story. The forecast track has changed: Simon is now expected to hug the coast toward Cabo Corrientes, near Puerto Vallarta, instead of moving quickly inland.

Hurricane Simon

• Position and strength. At 6:00 am CST Sunday (Advisory 16A), the US National Hurricane Center put Simon about 60 miles west of Manzanillo and 110 miles south-southeast of Cabo Corrientes, with 150 mph winds, moving north-northwest at 6 mph. The center’s 9:00 am summary listed 145 mph. Simon peaked at 155 mph on Saturday night.
• No landfall yet. As of those advisories the center had not come ashore. The hurricane center says the core is “very near the coast of west-central Mexico” and should be near or just inland later Sunday.
• New track. The 3:00 am forecast keeps the center near the coast: close to Cabo Corrientes around midnight Sunday as a Category 2 hurricane, then north toward the Mazatlán area as a weakening tropical storm by Tuesday. Rapid weakening is expected only if the core moves fully onshore. Landfall point and time: TBA.
• Warnings. Unchanged. A Hurricane Warning runs from Punta San Telmo to El Roblito and includes Las Islas Marías. That covers Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta and the Nayarit coast.
• Rain and surge. Another 10 to 20 inches of rain, locally 30, is forecast for Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco through Monday, a day longer than before. Mexico’s weather service forecasts a storm surge of 1.5 to 2.5 meters on the Jalisco and Colima coasts.
• Damage. We found no damage, casualty or power-outage reports from Jalisco or Colima yet. Street flooding was filmed in Manzanillo on Saturday evening.

Airports and transport

• Shutdown on the coast. The federal government suspended non-essential activity from 4:00 pm Saturday in 24 municipalities across Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán and Nayarit, including Puerto Vallarta, Bahía de Banderas and Manzanillo. No end time has been published. In Puerto Vallarta, shops, restaurants and gas stations closed, water service was suspended from 6:00 pm Saturday, and beachfront hotels moved guests.
• Airport advice. GAP asks passengers to stay in their hotels or in shelters and not go to the terminal.
• Waivers. Delta’s Simon waiver covers Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta for travel on October 10–11, with rebooked travel to begin by October 14. Aeroméxico allows free date changes on Manzanillo, Colima and Puerto Vallarta flights of October 9–11 if flown by October 14, according to the Rio Times. We could not verify waivers from other US or Canadian carriers; check your own airline.

Tropical Storm Rachel: over

• Rachel came ashore in northern Baja California late Saturday and weakened. The hurricane center issued its last advisory at 8:00 am MST Sunday, and Mexico dropped all coastal warnings.
• In Baja California, the port of Ensenada closed, parts of the city lost power for several hours, and more than 100 people were moved out of the Tijuana River canal. We found no airport closure at Tijuana.

What it means for airline travelers

• Do not list for Puerto Vallarta or Manzanillo before Tuesday at the earliest. With the storm now forecast to pass near Puerto Vallarta on Sunday night, Monday’s 8:00 am reopening is not certain. When flights restart, seats will go to stranded revenue passengers first.
• Already there? Stay indoors, follow your hotel and Protección Civil, and keep off the beaches. Do not go to the airport until it confirms it is open and your flight is operating.
• No road escape for now. Buses to Guadalajara are suspended, and flooding or mudslides may close mountain roads. Wait for roads to be confirmed open.
• Mazatlán and southern Sinaloa: the new track brings a weakening Simon your way on Tuesday. Expect heavy rain and possible delays.
• Budget extra days. Keep receipts for insurance, and enroll in STEP (US) or Registration of Canadians Abroad.

Sources

• US National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Simon Intermediate Advisory 16A
• US National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Simon Forecast/Advisory 16
• US National Hurricane Center, home page summary (Advisory 17)
• US National Hurricane Center, Remnants of Rachel Advisory 58
• EFE via Infobae, “Cerrados los aeropuertos mexicanos de Puerto Vallarta y Manzanillo ante el huracán Simón”
• La Jornada, “Aeropuerto de Puerto Vallarta cerrará por huracán ‘Simon’; reabriría el lunes”
• La Jornada, “Puerto Vallarta se paraliza ante la llegada del huracán ‘Simon’; evacúan zonas de riesgo”
• El Informador, “Huracán Simón: Cierran aeropuertos de Puerto Vallarta y Manzanillo como medida preventiva ante el ciclón”
• El Financiero, “Huracán ‘Simón’ activa la alerta máxima en Jalisco y obliga a cerrar el aeropuerto de Puerto Vallarta”
• Infobae, “Huracán Simon categoría 4 y ciclón Rachel provocarán lluvias hoy domingo 11 de octubre”
• Rio Times, “Mexico Orders 24 Towns Indoors as Hurricane Simon Nears”
• Rio Times, “Storm Rachel Hits Baja California, Over 100 Evacuated”
• Delta Air Lines, Hurricane Simon travel advisory

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