Seasonal· Puerto Vallarta· Mexico

Hurricane Season and Lidia Damage Notes (Banderas Bay)

20° 39.0′ N · 105° 22.9′ W

The bay's mountains have long shielded it, but it is not immune: Category 4 Hurricane Lidia came ashore just south of Puerto Vallarta in October 2023, and 2026 brought a run of late-season storms past the bay. Plan summer storage and insurance accordingly.

Practical

Coordinate is the Wikipedia point for Banderas Bay. Mexico's Pacific hurricane season officially starts May 15 and runs through November; Latitude 38 notes it is unusual for storms to reach north of Puerto Vallarta after mid-November. LIDIA: made landfall October 10, 2023 near Las Peñitas, Jalisco, just south of Puerto Vallarta, as a Category 4 with 140 mph winds; about 960 trees uprooted in the city, roofs blown off, one death in Punta Mita, airport closed October 11. Noonsite warned afterwards of debris in the water, missing navigation marks, damaged docks and limited berths; Marietas coral suffered heavy mortality. 2026 SEASON (strong El Niño forecast): Hurricane Polo (late September) sent big surf into the bay and a powerboat sank; Hurricane Simon (around October 10 to 12) put the coast from Punta San Telmo to Punta Mita under a hurricane warning and the city water utility shut its tanks; Hurricane Trudy (October 16) brought warnings from Manzanillo to Cabo Corrientes. A local meteorologist notes the last direct hurricane hit inside the bay was in 1925. Paradise Village bills its lagoon as a hurricane-season safe haven. Use the NHC and Mexico's SMN; watch for floating debris after storms.

Best for

Deciding where and how to leave the boat for summer

Season

May 15–Nov 30 (peak Aug–Oct)

Nearby