Hurricane Polo strengthened into a Category 4 storm over the eastern Pacific late Monday, bringing the threat of intense rain to southwestern Mexico while remaining offshore, forecasters said.
Polo’s maximum sustained winds reached 130 mph, and the storm could intensify into a Category 5 hurricane by Tuesday or Wednesday, according to the US National Hurricane Center in Miami. On the Saffir-Simpson scale, Category 4 hurricanes produce winds of 130 to 156 mph, while Category 5 storms exceed 157 mph.
The hurricane was tracking east-southeast at 5 mph but was expected to make a sharp turn toward the northwest and then west-northwest. That trajectory would keep Polo near Mexico’s coastline for several days without bringing the storm directly ashore.
Authorities issued a tropical storm watch along a section of the coast stretching from south of Manzanillo in Colima state to Tecpan de Galeana in Guerrero state. The alert means tropical storm conditions could reach the area within 48 hours.
As of late Monday, Polo was centered roughly 330 miles south-southeast of Manzanillo.
Forecasters warned that heavy rainfall could trigger flooding and landslides in coastal Guerrero and Michoacán through Thursday.
Lighter rainfall was also possible along coastal areas of Oaxaca, Colima and Jalisco.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Odalys was moving across the Pacific well away from land and was expected to strengthen into a hurricane by midweek. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph Monday.
In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Fay had weakened to a system with 40 mph winds southwest of the Azores. Forecasters expected Fay to deteriorate into a remnant low by late Tuesday.
The Atlantic has yet to produce a hurricane this year, marking the latest start to a hurricane season on record. Forecasters have attributed the unusually quiet activity in part to El Niño, whose effects can weaken storms before they fully develop.
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