At 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday the center of Tropical Storm Simon was located at latitude 18.8°N and longitude 110.6°W which put it about 285 miles south of the southern tip of Baja California.  Simon was moving toward the west-northwest at 9 m.p.h.  The maximum sustained wind speed was 65 m.p.h. and the minimum surface pressure was estimated to be 993 mb.

Simon appears to be developing a tight inner core and there are indications on visible satellite imagery that an eye might be forming.  Upper level winds have lessened and Simon is over warm Sea Surface Temperatures.  So, further intensification is likely and Simon will probably become a hurricane during the weekend.

Simon is being steered to the west-northwest by a mid-level ridge over northern Mexico.  It will likely turn more toward the north as it reaches the western extent of that ridge.  Guidance from the numerical models suggests two possibilities once Simon moves west of Baja California.  Some models are suggesting that it will turn northeastward and make landfall near the central portion of the Baja peninsula.  Another group of models is suggesting that Simon will weaken and stall west of Baja California.  It is too early to be certain which scenario is more likely.

Simon is the 18th named tropical cyclone to form over the Eastern North Pacific during 2014.  This equals the number of named tropical storms that formed over that region in 2013.