Simon slows offshore as Mexico downgrades warnings; Rachel search continues

The National Hurricane Center’s 15:00 UTC Tuesday advisory puts Hurricane Simon at Category 1 strength, about 165 km west of Cabo Corrientes, moving west at just 4 km/h. Mexico has downgraded the hurricane warning for the Islas Marías to a watch. A hurricane watch remains from north of Escuinapa to Bahía Tempehuaya, and a tropical-storm watch from Cabo Corrientes to Escuinapa. The NHC expects Simon to move very slowly for the next couple of days before turning north later this week. Its latest rainfall forecast is now 25–50 mm across parts of Baja California Sur, Nayarit and Sinaloa by Friday, with isolated totals near 75 mm. Swells could still create life-threatening surf and rip currents, so reduced wind alerts do not mean coastal risks have ended. The storm’s eventual path remains uncertain. Rachel’s aftermath in Baja California is still being assessed. La Jornada reported Tuesday that authorities had recovered a fifth body in Ensenada and were searching for five people. AP’s Monday-evening report had counted four deaths there and six missing. The change reflects a later recovery; a consolidated count across both storms was not available in the reports checked. AP had separately reported one death in Guerrero during Simon’s rains. The NHC’s [latest advisory](https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2026/ep20/ep202026.public.025.shtml) revises the watches and rainfall outlook. [La Jornada’s local report](https://www.jornada.com.mx/noticia/2026/10/13/estados/ciclon-rachel-en-bc-suman-5-muertos-autoridades-llevan-a-cabo-operativo-para-localizar-a-seis) and [AP’s Monday account](https://apnews.com/article/tropical-storm-flooding-rain-hurricane-cc01ec735f4ff7c11798bc9066dc1879) show how the search count changed. Mexico’s National Civil Protection Coordination (@CNPC_MX) posted the meteorological animation on October 13; it shows the forecast track, not ground footage: https://x.com/CNPC_MX/status/2109896124639174772 ~worldnews ~hurricane