Tracking Polo: Hurricane churns off Mexico's Pacific coast as 'one of the strongest storms ever'

Hurricane Polo grew into one of the most powerful Pacific cyclones in decades on Tuesday, and it was expected to skirt Mexico’s southwestern coast as a Category 5 hurricane. Polo was an “extremely dangerous” storm with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (290 kph), the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in an update from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft that was sent into the cyclone. It was the third Category 5 hurricane of the Pacific season, following Genevieve and Lowell earlier this year. Category 5 is the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson scale, reflecting that a storm has maximum sustained winds exceeding 157 mph.

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Scoop News DeskMexico · Published Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 10:43 PM UTCUpdated Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 11:03 PM UTC

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Beaches emptied out and dark clouds swirled above choppy seas, while Mexican authorities temporarily suspended classes in a number of areas on Tuesday. 1 dead — by the storm were Embassy in Mexico issued a weather alert, instructing citizens to avoid water and beaches and to heed warnings from Mexican authorities. “Even if the storm does not make direct landfall, heavy rain may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides.