Hurricane Polo explodes into rare Category 5 monster after feasting on hot El Niño water
By Meteorologist Chris Dolce, CNN
(CNN) — Hurricane Polo became a rare Category 5 on Tuesday morning after undergoing extreme rapid intensification off the Pacific coast of Mexico.
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Polo had 160 mph maximum sustained winds and was a few hundred miles south-southeast of Manzanillo, Mexico, as of Tuesday morning. Its dangerous hurricane-force winds are forecast to remain offshore from the Mexican coast as it moves northwestward parallel to the coastline through the end of the week.
Extreme rapid intensification is a wind increase of 58 mph or more in 24 hours. Polo met that criteria and then some, with a wind increase of 110 mph in 24 hours.
This rate of rapid intensification is “truly remarkable,” the National Hurricane Center said on Tuesday morning, and is among the fastest on record in the Eastern Pacific.
Hurricane Patricia set the Eastern Pacific 24-hour intensification record in 2015 when its winds jumped 120 mph. Polo’s intensification is comparable to 2023’s Hurricane Otis, which had a wind increase of 105 mph in 21 hours before slamming into and devastating Acapulco.
Polo’s intensification has been fueled in part by extremely warm Pacific Ocean water near the Mexican coast that has been untouched by any storms so far this year.
El Niño is also driving up ocean temperatures in the Pacific and fueling a hyperactive hurricane season there. More hurricanes are also rapidly intensifying as Earth and its oceans warm from fossil fuel pollution.
The powerful hurricane is moving southeastward right now, but it’s expected to turn to the northwest on Tuesday night.
A tropical storm watch is in effect for the southwest Mexico coast from Tecpán de Galeana to Manzanillo since this area could still experience tropical storm conditions by early Wednesday.
Heavy rain is Polo’s most significant impact. It could cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides in southwest Mexico.
Rainfall totals in Guerrero and Michoacán states could reach 4 to 8 inches, with locally up to 12 inches in spots through Thursday. Coastal portions of Oaxaca, Colima and Jalisco states could see 3 to 6 inches of rain.
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