Hurricane Simon weakened to a Category 3 storm overnight. But it kept battering Mexico's Pacific coast as it crawled along the shore.

At 5 a.m. Eastern time Monday, Simon had top winds of 115 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Its center was about 50 miles southwest of Cabo Corrientes. That is about 145 miles west-northwest of Manzanillo. The storm was moving northwest at 5 mph. A hurricane warning covers the coast from Playa Perula to El Roblito, plus Las Islas Marias. A hurricane watch runs north of El Roblito to Bahia Tempehuaya.

The center expects Simon to keep heading northwest into early Tuesday. Then it should turn northeast and move inland across west-central Mexico around midweek. It should stay a hurricane until then. It will likely weaken fast once it is over land.

On Sunday the storm's center closed in on the Puerto Vallarta area, DW reported. Mexico put 28 municipalities in Jalisco and Colima under its highest storm alert. Another 93 were under high alert. Officials opened shelters and halted work that is not essential.

President Claudia Sheinbaum urged people in Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Michoacan to stay sheltered, the AP reported via NPR. Philippe Papin is a senior hurricane center expert. He said Cabo Corrientes, the westernmost tip of mainland Mexico, was the spot most likely to take a direct hit.

Simon came days after Hurricane Polo hit Mexico's Baja California Peninsula as a Category 2 storm, DW said.

What we know: Simon had 115 mph winds early Monday about 50 miles southwest of Cabo Corrientes, with a hurricane warning from Playa Perula to El Roblito.
What we don't: How much damage Simon caused along the coast overnight, and where it will move inland.