October 8, 2026

Calm Before the Storm: Beautiful Morning in Puerto Vallarta as Tropical Storm Simon Rapidly Intensifies Offshore

Good morning from Puerto Vallarta. I’ve been fishing the past few days with the crew on Arrecho Sportfishing, chasing those giant yellowfin tuna, and the ocean has been absolutely gorgeous — mostly calm seas, very little wind, and the kind of conditions that make you never want to leave the water.

This morning I stepped out and looked at the ocean, and it’s still dead calm. Not a breath of wind. The water is glassy, the sun is coming up, and it looks like one of those perfect Baja mornings. But I’m guessing this is the calm before the storm.

Tropical Storm Simon is sitting a couple hundred miles south of us right now, roughly 195 miles south-southwest of Lázaro Cárdenas and about 255 miles south-southeast of Manzanillo. She’s packing about 50 mph winds and moving slowly west, but the National Hurricane Center expects her to organize quickly and intensify rapidly. She’s forecast to become a hurricane by early Friday, then strengthen into a major hurricane — Category 3 or stronger — by late Friday or early Saturday as she turns north and approaches the coast of southwestern Mexico.

The official forecast has her peaking around 130 mph (Category 4 territory) on Saturday while she moves closer to the west-central Mexican coastline. Even if the center stays offshore of Puerto Vallarta, the impacts could be significant. Rainfall totals of 8 to 12 inches are expected over portions of southwestern Mexico through Sunday, with isolated amounts of 15 to 25 inches possible in parts of Colima and Michoacán. That’s the kind of rain that can produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in the steep terrain inland from the coast. Dangerous swells, high surf, and rip currents are also expected along the southwestern and west-central coast through the weekend.

Here in Puerto Vallarta and along the Jalisco coast, we’re watching her closely. The boys on Arrecho and the other local boats are keeping an eye on the conditions, and so are the folks on shore. These things can change fast when a storm is forecast to intensify this quickly.

If you’re in the area or planning to fish this weekend, check the latest from the National Hurricane Center and Mexico’s SMN, and stay safe. For the latest fishing reports, Captain’s audios, bait updates, and more, check http://friedmanadventures.com. And don’t forget — our next Friedman Adventures Surf Fishing Festival is Saturday, October 24 at Sunset Beach. Hope to see you there once this system clears out.

Stay safe out there, Friedman Adventures family. We’ll keep you posted from Puerto Vallarta.

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