Three tropical systems are affecting North America as Hurricane Simon approaches Mexico’s western coast while Hurricane Isaias and Tropical Storm Rachel move across parts of the United States and northern Mexico. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported on Saturday, October 10, that Hurricane Simon has reached Category 4 status with sustained winds of 145 mph. Forecasters expect Simon to make landfall on the Mexican coast late Saturday or Sunday morning.
In the United States, Hurricane Isaias was forecast to make landfall near Pensacola, Florida, as a Category 2 storm with 110 mph winds. The storm left hundreds of thousands of people in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle without power by Saturday morning. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Rachel is expected to make landfall in northern Mexico late Saturday before moving through Southern California and Arizona on Sunday.
Authorities in the Mexican state of Jalisco suspended classes in 22 coastal municipalities on Friday and Monday, and began evacuating residents from high-risk zones. The NHC issued hurricane warnings for a stretch of the central western coast including Punta San Telmo, Punta Mita, El Roblito, and Las Islas Marias. Forecasters warned that the storm could produce "life-threatening flooding and mudslides," particularly in steep terrain.
For those in the path of Hurricane Simon, the day-to-day change includes evacuations and the closure of schools through at least Monday, October 12. In Puerto Vallarta, tourism workers and visitors were ordered to be in shelters or safe zones by the afternoon of Friday, October 9. In Southern California, residents near Long Beach are using sandbags to mitigate coastal flooding as Tropical Storm Rachel brings waves that are damaging boardwalks and bulkheads.
The activity represents a rare meteorological event, as a meteorologist for FOX 9 reported this is one of only a handful of times in 150 years that two tropical systems have impacted the U.S. within 48 hours. Hurricane Simon is expected to reach the Mexican coast near Puerto Vallarta on Sunday, October 11. Residents in the Southeast U.S. are advised to remain off the roads through the weekend as the remnants of Isaias move inland.