Hurricane Polo has exploded into an exceptionally powerful Category 5 storm, packing sustained winds of 180mph as it churns across the eastern Pacific.
The monster has reached Category 5 strength, the highest official rating, reserved for storms with winds of at least 157mph, three times this week, prompting one meteorologist to suggest it may belong in a category that does not officially exist.
Meteorologist Ryan Maue posted on X: ‘If there will ever be Category 6, then you’re looking at it now. Hurricane Polo had an interesting Thursday with explosive convection in all directions. Today’s operation: shattering the record book.’
Maue was referring to satellite estimates suggesting winds near 196mph, above the unofficial 192mph threshold proposed for a Category 6 storm- a proposed, hypothetical classification for extreme tropical cyclones.
As of Friday morning, Polo was centered about 290 miles southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico.
The official forecast shows it approaching Baja California Sur early next week, although its exact landfall timing remains uncertain.
Long-range spaghetti models show several possible paths carrying Polo’s remnants, the weakened remains of the hurricane, into Arizona, New Mexico and Texas next week, unleashing heavy rain, flooding and high winds.
Other projections take the system farther north through Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska, while one distant outlier arcs toward Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan, although those paths remain highly uncertain.
Hurricane Polo has reached Category 5 strength, the highest official rating, reserved for storms with winds of at least 157mph, three times this week
Long-range spaghetti models show several possible paths carrying Polo’s remnants, the weakened remains of the hurricane, into Arizona, New Mexico and Texas next week
AccuWeather meteorologists stated: ‘Moisture from Polo could interact with the non-tropical storm over the south-central US later next week, increasing the risk of heavy rain, flash flooding and severe thunderstorms.
‘Depending on Polo’s track and how much of the storm remains intact, heavy rain could extend from Texas’ Big Bend region northeastward into central and eastern Oklahoma.’
The news outlet added that the risk of flooding could be significant.
Meteorologist Max Velocity said on X: ‘Polo is the first hurricane on record to reach Category 5 strength three separate times, with all three peaks occurring in the Eastern Pacific.
‘And at 180 mph, Polo has once again reached the third-highest wind speed ever recorded in the Eastern Pacific. Polo is certainly one for the history books.’
The National Hurricane Center said Polo gained significant force overnight into Friday morning as it brought storm conditions to parts of the western Mexico coast.
No major damage or flooding was reported along the coast overnight into Friday.
Residents stacked sandbags to fortify beachfront shops and evacuated their homes in some coastal areas on Thursday.
Meteorologist Ryan Maue said Hurricane Polo could qualify as an unofficial Category 6 storm after satellite estimates suggested winds near 196mph, above the proposed 192mph threshold
Mexican authorities opened shelters and cleared people from beaches, and 15,000 security personnel were deployed across the coast. Schools were closed.
Polo formed as a tropical storm on September 20 and exploded into a Category 5 hurricane two days later. It weakened and exploded back into a Category 5 on Thursday and again Friday morning.
This is the first recorded hurricane in the Eastern Pacific to reach Category 5 strength three separate times.
Despite its strength, Polo is a smaller storm, with hurricane-force winds extending only 40 miles from its center and tropical-storm-force winds reaching just 125 miles away from the storm’s center, according to the NHC.
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