A powerful hurricane racing toward the United States is expected to make landfall within hours, prompting flood alerts for millions of people across at least five states.
Hurricane Polo is currently a strong Category 3 storm, packing sustained winds of 115 mph. The system is forecast to strike Mexico first before its remnants sweep across the United States, delivering widespread rain throughout much of the week.
The National Weather Service has issued flood watches for Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. Forecasters say Polo could bring as much as 4 inches of rain to parts of the Southwest.
AccuWeather said Polo’s moisture will also spread rainfall into portions of California, Nevada, Oklahoma, Kansas, Wyoming and the Northern Plains.
After spending several days moving across the Pacific, the storm is projected to reach the Baja California Peninsula— the 775-mile stretch of land south of California and along the U.S.-Mexico border—by 10 p.m. ET Monday.
The National Hurricane Center said in a statement: “Heavy rainfall associated with Polo will impact Baja California Sur along with southern and central portions of Sonora today into Tuesday.”
“This rainfall may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain. Moisture from Polo will support heavy rainfall and flooding potential across the Southwest U.S. into the Southern High Plains late today into Tuesday.”
Residents and visitors across the Baja California Peninsula are bracing for dangerous conditions, including wind gusts of up to 120 mph, storm surges reaching 10 feet and rainfall totals of as much as 8 inches through Tuesday night.
Hurricane Polo (Pictured) is expected to make landfall Monday in the Baja California Peninsula
Pictured: People board up glass windows as Hurricane Polo approaches Baja California Sur, in Ciudad Constitucion, Mexico on Sunday
Polo has been an exceptionally powerful storm, with sustained winds reaching 180 mph at several points during its trek across the Pacific.
Last week, some forecasters suggested the hurricane may have approached the threshold for a hypothetical Category 6 classification, a designation that does not officially exist.
Meteorologist Ryan Maue wrote 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 citing satellite estimates that placed Polo’s winds at 196 mph—above the unofficial 192-mph benchmark proposed for a Category 6 storm, a theoretical label for the most extreme tropical cyclones.
While the hurricane has weakened as it approaches Mexico, Polo is still forecast to reach land as a Category 2 storm, with sustained winds of up to 110 mph.
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Florida meteorologist Matt Devitt said Polo’s influence could be felt across the United States for several days, even after the system loses hurricane status.
Devitt wrote on X: “Hurricane #Polo is going to have itself quite a week. Landfall as a potential major hurricane along Baja California Sur on Monday, New Mexico on Tuesday, Nebraska on Wednesday as leftovers.”
AccuWeather said the storm’s broader effects could extend as far as the Great Lakes, bringing showers and thunderstorms to Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
Hurricane Polo is currently a major Category 3 storm with winds of 115 mph. It is not expected to be a hurricane when it reaches the US
Flood watches in Arizona and Utah are expected to remain in effect at least through Tuesday night. The National Weather Service said similar alerts for Texas and New Mexico will continue into Wednesday.
Major cities including Albuquerque, Los Alamos and Santa Fe in New Mexico are expected to see up to three inches of rain fall. El Paso, Texas could see up to four inches fall in isolated spots.
AccuWeather noted that, as Polo moves over Mexico and the US, a separate non-tropical storm will be sweeping across the Colorado Rockies and the dry area of the western US known as the Great Basin.
The storm is pulling Polo’s leftover tropical moisture north, and that mix will be what brings several days of heavy rain and flood risk to the Southwest and other regions in the Northern Plains and Midwest.
This is a breaking story. More details to follow.
Pictured: Workers prepare for Hurricane Polo to make landfall at the Baja California Sur, boarding up beachfront homes and businesses before 120mph wind gusts hit the coast
The remnants of Hurricane Polo are expected to bring flooding rains to at least five states in the US Southwest
