Hurricane Polo grows into Category 5 storm off Mexico, could produce life-threatening flooding

Hurricane Polo rapidly intensified off the coast of southwestern Mexico on Tuesday, growing into a powerful Category 5 storm that could bring life-threatening flooding to parts of the states of Guerrero and Michoacán, the National Hurricane Center said. 

The hurricane center called Polo “extremely dangerous” on Tuesday, as its maximum sustained winds climbed to 165 mph. It will likely continue to strengthen through Wednesday, it said.

Map shows Hurricane Polo’s path

As of Tuesday afternoon, Polo was located off the coast of Zihuatanejo, a coastal resort city in the Mexican state of Guerrero, and Manzanillo, another coastal city and resort destination in the state of Colima. It was stationary, hurling hurricane force winds outward up to 35 miles from its center, after inching northward along the Pacific Coast throughout the morning.

Polo was forecast to bring tropical storm conditions to parts of the coastline starting Wednesday morning. In some areas, heavy rainfall “may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain,” the hurricane center warned.

The Mexican government issued a tropical storm warning for a stretch of the Mexican coast from Tecpan de Galeana, in Guerrero, to Punta San Telmo, in Michoacán. A tropical storm watch was in effect from Punta San Telmo to Playa Perula, in the state of Jalisco. Tropical storm warnings are issued when forecasts indicate tropical storm conditions will develop in a particular area, while tropical storm watches are issued when those conditions are possible, but not imminent. 

In this case, the hurricane center said people in under a tropical storm warning should expect those conditions to take shape early Wednesday. For those in the watch area, such conditions could potentially develop by Thursday.

Forecasters said they expect Polo to continue on its current path before making a sharp turn toward the northwest Tuesday night and Wednesday, bringing the core of the hurricane near the southwestern Mexican coast in the coming days. 

As of early Tuesday, the storm was forecast to remain offshore, but it would likely bring heavy rainfall, in addition to what the hurricane center described as “life-threatening flooding and mudslides” to some coastal places, especially those located in steep terrain.

Parts of Guerrero and Michoacán may receive between 4 and 8 inches of rainfall as Polo barrels past, with up to 8 inches possible in certain spots, through Thursday. Between 2 and 4 inches of rain could also fall in coastal parts of the states of Oaxaca, Colima and Jalisco through Thursday, forecasters said. 

Along with rain, Polo was also expected to cause life-threatening surf conditions, including rip currents, along the southwestern Mexican coast.