Hurricane Simon and Storm Rachel Batter Mexico’s Pacific Coast

Hurricane Simon and the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel battered Mexico’s Pacific coast this week, killing at least two people, flooding towns and forcing evacuations of tourists.

Simon peaked as a Category 4 storm with 155 mph winds, just below the Category 5 threshold, before weakening to a Category 2 off the coast of Jalisco. The National Hurricane Center forecast a turn toward land with landfall expected Friday near Sinaloa.

The hurricane could drop 10 to 20 inches of rain across southwestern Mexico, with up to 30 inches in parts of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco. “This rainfall will produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain,” the hurricane center warned.

In Guerrero, Simon toppled trees and power poles, blocked roads and flooded homes in coastal towns including Acapulco. About 14,000 federal and state personnel were deployed across Baja California for the emergency response.

Rachel made landfall in Baja California as a post-tropical cyclone, and its remnants pushed north into the southwestern United States, causing severe weekend flooding in Las Vegas and unusually large waves on Southern California beaches.

Local newspaper La Jornada reported two deaths in Baja California and 11 people missing, though officials said figures remain preliminary and the toll could rise.

Forecasters attribute the busy Pacific season to a strong El Nino pattern, which tends to suppress Atlantic storms while fueling stronger Pacific systems.

For Philadelphia readers, the storms are a reminder to check conditions before winter travel to Mexico’s resort coasts, and a worry for the region’s Mexican diaspora communities with family in the affected states.