Category 5 Hurricane Polo intensifies rapidly off Mexico's Pacific coast

Hurricane Polo became a Category 5 storm in the Pacific Ocean near southwestern Mexico in September 2026. Its winds reached 180 mph, and it grew from a regular hurricane to Category 5 in less than 24 hours. Forecasters said the storm would stay offshore, around 200 to 270 miles from the coast. However, heavy rain and flooding threatened parts of Oaxaca, Colima, and Jalisco, with some effects expected as far as Southern California. Polo was the third Category 5 storm of the Pacific season. Scientists linked the rapid strengthening to very warm ocean water caused by an unusually powerful El Niño. The same pattern of sudden intensification destroyed Acapulco during Hurricane Otis in 2023.