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Hurricane Polo threatens Mexico's southwestern coast with heavy rain and flooding
September 23, 2026
Hurricane Polo, a Category 5 storm, sits nearly stationary 210 miles south of Zihuatanejo as Mexico braces for rain and flooding along its southwestern coast.
Category 5 is the top level of the Saffir-Simpson scale, and El Nino has warmed Pacific waters this year while no Atlantic hurricane has yet formed, a record late start to that season.
Key facts
- Guerrero and Michoacán could see between 8 and 15 centimeters of rain, which is 3 to 6 inches, according to the forecast, while coastal parts of Oaxaca, Colima and Jalisco could get less.
- Odalys, a Category 1 hurricane with peak sustained winds of 120 kph (75 mph), was tracking east-northeast at 15 kph (9 mph) some 2,085 kilometers, or 1,295 miles, beyond the southern end of Mexico's Baja California peninsula, the hurricane center said.
- Category 5 sits at the top of the Saffir-Simpson scale and means a hurricane's maximum sustained winds top 157 mph (253 kph).
- According to the US center, winds of hurricane force reach as far as 40 miles (65 kilometers) out from the center, while tropical storm-force winds stretch 105 miles (169 kilometers) from the eye.
- NPR reports that Polo was barely moving over the Pacific, with its center 338 kilometers, or 210 miles, to the south of the Mexican city of Zihuatanejo.
AP News reports that Polo sat almost motionless over the Pacific, 210 miles (338 kilometers) south of Zihuatanejo, after strengthening into a Category 5 storm, the top rung of the Saffir-Simpson scale. The US National Hurricane Center called the speed of that growth over 24 hours "truly remarkable," AP News reports. Forecasters there expect 3 to 6 inches of rain in Guerrero and Michoacán, with lighter totals possible in coastal Oaxaca, Colima and Jalisco. NPR and CBS News carry the same position, intensity and rainfall figures, and CTV News carries the account as well.
The outlets agree on the human side too. AP News and NPR describe emptied beaches, classes suspended on Tuesday and waves already reaching Lázaro Cárdenas, where a local business owner fears losing work built over decades. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said experts judged a landfall unlikely, while the US Embassy in Mexico warned in a weather alert, "Even if the storm does not make direct landfall, heavy rain may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides". Philip Klotzbach of Colorado State University links the rapid strengthening to El Nino, and "This is one of the strongest storms ever in the (Pacific) Basin," said Kristen Corbosiero of the University at Albany.
No outlet disputes the core facts: Polo's strength, its position and the rain forecast are corroborated across the coverage. What remains open is where the storm goes next and how much of its force reaches the shore.
“Fluctuations in intensity are expected, but Polo is expected to remain a very powerful major hurricane during the next few days,” the NHC said.
NHC
Still developing
The storm's path is still expected to skirt the coast without landfall, and fluctuations in intensity are expected during the next few days.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- AP News — Polo off Mexican coast is among ‘the strongest storms ever’ as Odalys becomes a hurricane - NBC News
- CTV News — Polo off Mexican coast is among ‘the strongest storms ever’ as Odalys becomes a hurricane - CTV News
- CBS News — Hurricane Polo an extremely powerful Category 4 storm off Mexico's Pacific coast. See its path.
- NPR — Category 5 Hurricane Polo is 'one of the strongest storms ever'
Toggle read the full reports of 4 of the 5 outlets counted on this event. The other 1 are counted from their headlines and opening sentences.