Hurricane Polo became a rare Category 5 storm Tuesday morning after intensifying extremely quickly off Mexico’s Pacific coast.
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Polo had maximum sustained winds of 160 mph and was several hundred miles south-southeast of Manzanillo, Mexico, as of Tuesday morning. Dangerous hurricane-force winds are expected to remain off the coast of Mexico until the end of the week, as they move northwest parallel to the coastline.
Extreme rapid strengthening is an increase in wind speed of 58 mph or more within 24 hours. Polo met that criteria, as well as a 110 mph increase in wind speed over a 24-hour period.
The National Hurricane Center announced Tuesday morning that the rapid rate of intensification was “truly remarkable” and one of the fastest on record in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Hurricane Patricia set a 24-hour strength record in the Eastern Pacific Ocean in 2015 with winds of 190 mph. Polo’s intensification is comparable to Hurricane Otis in 2023, when it hit Acapulco and caused devastating damage, with winds reaching 165 mph in 21 hours.
Contributing to Polo’s intensification is the extremely warm waters of the Pacific Ocean near the Mexican coast, which has not seen any storms so far this year.
El Niño is also causing ocean temperatures to rise in the Pacific Ocean, making hurricane season more active. As the Earth and its oceans warm due to fossil fuel pollution, hurricanes are rapidly becoming more intense.
The powerful hurricane is currently moving southeast, but is expected to turn northwest Tuesday night.
A tropical cyclone watch is in effect for Mexico’s southwestern coast from Tecpan de Galeana to Manzanillo, with tropical storm conditions likely to persist by early Wednesday morning.
Heavy rains have the biggest impact on polo. It could cause life-threatening flooding and landslides in southwestern Mexico.
Rainfall totals in Guerrero and Michoacán could reach 4 to 8 inches by Thursday, with locally up to 12 inches possible. Three to six inches of rain could fall along the coasts of Oaxaca, Colima and Jalisco.
