Hurricane Polo moved off Mexico's southwestern coast on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) characterized the system as an "extremely dangerous" major hurricane after it intensified to Category 5 status on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, before moderating to a Category 4 storm.
The intensification of Polo follows two other Category 5 Pacific hurricanes this year, Genevieve and Lowell. Philip Klotzbach, a research scientist at Colorado State University, attributed the strengthening to El Nino, a weather phenomenon that has produced warmer Pacific waters and conducive wind patterns. While scientists and the NHC described the speed of Polo's intensification as "truly remarkable," the Atlantic basin has yet to record a hurricane this year, marking a record for the longest start to a season without one.
On Wednesday, Polo was located approximately 165 miles south of Zihuatanejo, moving slowly north with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that while experts do not expect the storm to make landfall, its proximity will bring tropical storm conditions to Guerrero, Michoacan, and Colima states through Thursday. Meanwhile, a separate system, Hurricane Odalys, strengthened to Category 1 status approximately 1,295 miles off the Baja California peninsula but is not considered a threat to land.
Beyond Mexico, forecasters are monitoring a tropical depression 525 miles south-southeast of Honolulu projected to become a hurricane by Thursday, September 24. Forecasters expect this system to drop between 15 and 20 inches of rain on Hawaii's Big Island, an amount capable of causing catastrophic flooding and mudslides. Mexican authorities have already suspended classes and closed ports in parts of Guerrero and Michoacán.
Polo's wind speeds, which at 180 mph earlier in the week were comparable to the 215 mph winds of Hurricane Patricia in 2015, highlight the impact of El Nino on Pacific storm intensity. The center of the depression near Hawaii is expected to approach the islands by Friday, September 25, or Saturday, September 26. In Mexico, tropical storm conditions are expected to persist through Thursday, September 24.