Simon has weakened to a tropical storm and nearly stalled off Mexico; no coastal watches remain

Wednesday’s story had Simon as a Category 2 hurricane, with winds near 105 mph and a hurricane watch for the Islas Marias. By 2 a.m. Mountain time Thursday, Advisory Number 32 put the top winds near 60 mph (95 kilometers an hour), with higher gusts. That is a tropical storm. The advisory says the winds have decreased to near 60 mph.

The center was near latitude 19.2 north, longitude 108.5 west: about 270 miles (435 kilometers) south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas, and about 200 miles (320 kilometers) west-southwest of Cabo Corrientes. Simon was stationary. The minimum central pressure was 996 millibars.

Simon is nearly stationary and is likely to move slowly and erratically through tonight. A northwestward motion is forecast to begin by Friday and continue through the weekend. Gradual weakening is expected during the next few days, and Simon is forecast to become a post-tropical remnant low by late this weekend.

Simon is a small tropical cyclone. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles (55 kilometers) from the center.

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect. The center says people in Baja California Sur should continue to monitor the storm.

Through early Saturday, Simon is expected to produce 1 to 2 inches of rain, with isolated amounts of 3 inches, over portions of Baja California Sur. Swells will affect portions of the coast of west-central Mexico and Baja California Sur during the next couple of days. The center says those swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip currents.

The U.S. center tells people to consult products from their local weather office. This desk did not open Mexico’s national weather service pages.