Hurricane Simon hitting western Mexico after tropical systems kill 5

Hurricane Simon continued to move slowly up the coast of west-central Mexico on Tuesday on a path expected to continue for another day or so. Strong winds and flooding rain spun out from the hurricane, which, along with other tropical systems, caused five deaths and widespread damage to Pacific coastal towns and resorts in recent days. 

While the eye of the hurricane remained offshore, its outer bands slammed communities this week between the Sierra Madre and the Pacific Ocean near Puerto Vallarta.

Simon’s 90 mph strongest sustained winds made it a Category 1 storm, but the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said it had technically become a small tropical cyclone. Simon was 105 miles west of Cabo Corrientes and heading northwest at 2 mph.

Forecasters said the storm’s intensity could fluctuate over the next few days but that it will likely maintain hurricane strength through the middle of the week. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 10 miles from Simon’s core and tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 45 miles.

Hurricane Simon rain and flood forecast

Up to 3 inches of rain are expected from Simon across the Mexican states of Baja California Sur, Nayarit and Sinaloa by Friday, the weather service said.

Moisture associated with Simon is forecast to bring the potential for flash flooding from this evening through Friday morning to parts of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, according to CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan. Rainfall could total 6 inches and perhaps 8 in some spots.

Tropical weather turns deadly   

In Mexico’s Baja California state, rescuers on Monday combed parts of the coastal city of Ensenada, where floodwaters swept away vehicles and damaged homes. At least four people died in the state due to the impact of post-tropical cyclone Rachel.

Resident Johana Nuriulu said the flooding began during the night, shortly after heavy rain knocked out electricity. “We heard a loud noise that sounded like ocean waves, but really loud,” she said.

Nuriulu said she went outside and discovered that a nearby stream had overflowed, sending water rushing through the neighborhood. The waters inundated streets and homes, sweeping away vehicles and other belongings. “Everything was being dragged away,” Nuriulu said.

Several communities were cut off by landslides and overflowing rivers elsewhere in Baja California.

In the afternoon, the Mexican military used helicopters to rescue 32 people — 22 of them foreigners — from a ranch in Ensenada. Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila said 13 were youths.

The state Secretary of Security, Gen. Laureano Carrillo, said some of the group were missionaries meeting at the ranch and that among them were Germans and Americans.

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 and two women and a 4-year-old boy Monday. Lozoya said six people remained missing: four in Ensenada and two from the town of San Felipe, a father and son who went fishing Saturday and didn’t return.

According to Ávila, some 14,000 federal and state personnel had been deployed across Baja California to assist affected residents and respond to the emergency.

To the south, Simon downed trees and electricity poles, blocked roads and flooded homes in coastal towns of Guerrero state, including the major seaport of Acapulco, Gov. Evelyn Salgado said at a news conference.

A 71-year-old man died after a wall collapsed in Chilpancingo, Guerrero’s capital, Salgado said.

In Puerto Vallarta, workers removed wooden panels from boarded-up storefronts and businesses reopened Monday as rains eased. The popular tourist destination’s international airport suspended operations until Tuesday morning.

“Personally, I think we should remain on alert because we don’t really know whether it will arrive, move elsewhere or dissipate,” said Noelia Carrillo, a tourism agency worker.

U.S. impact from storms 

Rachel weakened into a post-tropical cyclone as it moved north into Southern California. The storm battered the coast with unusually large waves, which tore apart a boardwalk and smashed into homes in Long Beach. Some residents were forced to evacuate.

Las Vegas tied an all-time daily rainfall record for October when it received 1.08 inches of rain into Sunday morning, according to the U.S. National Weather Service. The record was set in 1947.

Videos posted on social media showed a torrent of water rushing through a street near the Las Vegas Strip, with a Ferris wheel and casinos in the background.

Flood advisories were mostly lifted by late Monday in Utah, Arizona and elsewhere in the Southwest.

In Utah, dozens of runners and volunteers who were part of the Moab 240 ultramarathon were evacuated Sunday after being stranded by flooding. The race goes through Canyonlands and Arches national parks.

The additional rainfall isn’t associated with Rachel, but a different weather system moving across the West, forecasters said. The precipitation is expected to end by Wednesday.

Power was gradually being restored after Hurricane Isaias hit the U.S. Southeast.

At least four deaths have been linked to Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, which came ashore as a Category 2 hurricane Friday near Destin, Florida, a Gulf Coast vacation spot filled with high-rises and tourist shops. The storm then roared into Alabama with tropical-force winds before dissipating farther north.