Hurricane Polo powers up, threatens Mexico’s Pacific coast

Hurricane Polo is rapidly strengthening in the Pacific Ocean, expanding into a Category 5 storm early Tuesday morning (Sept. 22), threatening parts of Mexico with dangerous weather conditions. as it tracks near Mexico’s western coast, bringing the threat of heavy rainfall, dangerous surf and tropical-storm-force winds to parts of the country.

Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said Polo is expected to make a sharp turn toward the west-northwest or northwest by late Tuesday. The storm is forecast to remain offshore as it moves roughly parallel to Mexico’s Pacific coast.

Polo’s rise was remarkably swift, reportedly surging from a 40 mph tropical storm to a 160 mph Category 5 hurricane in only 36 hours, potentially setting an eastern Pacific record.

A tropical storm watch has been issued for a stretch of coastline from south of Manzanillo, Colima, to Tecpan de Galeana, Guerrero, where tropical storm conditions are possible, reports the Associated Press.

Coastal areas of Guerrero and Michoacán could receive four to eight inches (10 to 20 centimetres) of rain through Thursday, with isolated totals approaching 12 inches (30 centimetres). The downpours could trigger flash flooding and landslides.

Lighter rainfall is also possible along coastal portions of Oaxaca, Colima and Jalisco.

Polo is also expected to generate large swells and dangerous rip currents beyond Mexico as it moves through the Pacific.

Alert for Southern California

Southern California could experience increased humidity, rough surf and potentially unsettled weather by the weekend, although the timing and extent of those impacts remain uncertain.

Farther west, Tropical Storm Odalys is also strengthening over the Pacific.

The storm was located more than 1,400 miles (2,250 kilometres) west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula on Monday and was moving northwest.

Odalys, which remained far from land, was forecast to strengthen into a hurricane by midweek.

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