Hurricane Simon kept grinding up Mexico’s Pacific coast Tuesday with 90 mph winds and flooding rain, after recent tropical systems left five dead and battered coastal towns and resorts.
CBS News reported that Simon moved slowly northwest off west-central Mexico while outer bands slammed communities near Puerto Vallarta, between the Sierra Madre and the Pacific. The eye stayed offshore.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the system had become a small tropical cyclone with sustained winds of 90 mph, a Category 1 hurricane. Hurricane-force winds reached only 10 miles from the core. Tropical-storm-force winds stretched out to 45 miles. Simon sat about 105 miles west of Cabo Corrientes and crawled northwest at 2 mph.
Intensity could still bounce around over the next few days. Forecasters said the storm would likely hold hurricane strength through midweek. For towns already hit by flooding, landslides, and high water, that slow track meant more rain on ground that could not take it.
Simon and other recent tropical systems left five people dead and widespread damage across Pacific coastal towns and resorts. Baja California took a hard blow from post-tropical cyclone Rachel. Guerrero felt Simon’s reach as well.
Baja California Civil Protection Coordinator Ignacio Lozoya said Monday evening that four bodies had been recovered in Ensenada, a 13-year-old girl on Sunday, then two women and a 4-year-old boy on Monday. Six people remained missing: four in Ensenada, plus a father and son from San Felipe who went fishing Saturday and never came back.
Mexican military helicopters pulled 32 people off a ranch in Ensenada on Monday afternoon. Officials said 22 were foreigners and 13 were youths. Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila said about 14,000 federal and state personnel had been deployed across the state. State security chief Gen. Laureano Carrillo said some of those rescued were missionaries, including Germans and Americans, who had been meeting at the ranch.
In Ensenada, floodwater swept away vehicles and damaged homes after heavy overnight rain knocked out power. Resident Johana Nuriulu described what she heard when the water rose.
Nuriulu said:
"We heard a loud noise that sounded like ocean waves, but really loud,"
She added:
"Everything was being dragged away,"
Guerrero Gov. Evelyn Salgado said Simon downed trees and power poles, blocked roads, and flooded homes in coastal towns including Acapulco. She said a 71-year-old man died after a wall collapsed in Chilpancingo.
Near Puerto Vallarta, rains eased enough for some businesses to reopen and pull down storm panels. The international airport had suspended operations until Tuesday morning. Farther along the coast, the National Weather Service called for up to 3 inches of rain across Baja California Sur, Nayarit, and Sinaloa by Friday.
Tourism worker Noelia Carrillo in Puerto Vallarta still urged caution while the forecast stayed murky.
Carrillo said:
"Personally, I think we should remain on alert because we don't really know whether it will arrive, move elsewhere or dissipate,"
Photo captions from the scene in Bahia de Banderas, Nayarit, were dated Oct. 12, 2026, showing heavy surf and flooded streets while Simon lingered offshore.
Post-tropical moisture from Rachel did not stop at the border. In Long Beach, unusually large waves tore apart a boardwalk, smashed into homes, and forced some residents to evacuate. Las Vegas tied its all-time daily October rainfall record with 1.08 inches into Sunday morning, a mark that had stood since 1947. Social media video showed a torrent racing down a street near the Strip, with a Ferris wheel and casinos in the background.
In Utah, flooding stranded dozens of Moab 240 ultramarathon runners and volunteers near Canyonlands and Arches. They had to be evacuated Sunday. By late Monday, most flood advisories had been lifted across Utah, Arizona, and other parts of the Southwest. Separate Western rainfall was expected to end by Wednesday.
On the other side of the country, Hurricane Isaias came ashore Friday as a Category 2 near Destin, Florida, then pushed into Alabama. At least four deaths were linked to that storm. Crews were still restoring power across parts of the Southeast.
CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan said moisture tied to Simon could bring flash flooding from Tuesday evening through Friday morning across parts of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. Rainfall there could reach 6 inches, and perhaps 8 inches in some spots.
That left a wide stretch of North America dealing with the same week’s weather: a slow hurricane off Mexico, deadly flooding in Baja California, record rain in Las Vegas, surf damage in Southern California, race evacuations in Utah, and a separate hurricane recovery on the Gulf Coast.
Storms do not wait on perfect timing or tidy borders. Families, rescuers, and local crews are the ones left to dig out when the water finally drops.
