The last time Puerto Vallarta was directly hit by a hurricane was in October 2002, when Hurricane Kenna made landfall just south of the city as a strong Category 4 storm. Kenna brought damaging winds, storm surge flooding up to 16 feet, and over a foot of rain. In Puerto Vallarta, the flooding and surge caused an estimated $5 million USD in damage. Since Kenna, Puerto Vallarta has not had a direct hurricane landfall. In October 2015, Hurricane Patricia passed just offshore, bringing tropical storm conditions, heavy rain, and flooding. In August 2021, Hurricane Nora also passed offshore as a Category 1 storm, bringing heavy rain and flooding to Puerto Vallarta, damaging infrastructure like bridges and buildings.
