Photo: CARL DE SOUZA / AFP / Getty Images
Hurricane Polo is expected to make its second landfall on the mainland of northwestern Mexico on Tuesday (September 29), roughly 24 hours after striking Baja California Sur overnight. The powerful storm, which peaked as a Category 5 hurricane earlier this week, has already begun battering Mexico's Baja California peninsula with heavy rain and strong winds.
Polo, the 18th named storm and seventh hurricane of the 2026 Pacific hurricane season, rapidly intensified after forming as a tropical depression on September 20. The US National Hurricane Center described it as the strongest eastern Pacific storm of 2026, with maximum sustained winds reaching 165 mph when it reached Category 5 status. At its peak intensity on Tuesday (September 22), the storm became the second strongest hurricane on record for the eastern Pacific basin after its pressure dropped below 890 millibars, according to weather experts. Only Hurricane Patricia in 2015, which dropped to 872 millibars with winds of 215 mph, was stronger.
The storm made its first landfall in Baja California Sur on Saturday (September 28) after weakening to Category 4 strength. A Hurricane Watch remained in effect for parts of the peninsula, with tropical storm conditions beginning Friday night (September 27) and hurricane conditions arriving Saturday afternoon between Punta Eugenia and Santa Fe.
The National Hurricane Center and Mexican civil protection authorities have warned of life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides, particularly across steep terrain. Polo is forecast to produce between four and eight inches of rainfall, with isolated maximum totals near 10 inches across parts of Baja California Sur. The second landfall on Tuesday extends the flood threat to Sinaloa, Sonora, and Chihuahua.
Coastal areas of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, and Guerrero face rainfall, strong winds, rough seas, and elevated risk of flooding, landslides, and coastal inundation. Heavy rain is also expected in Guerrero and Michoacán through Tuesday (October 1), with inclement weather along the coasts of Oaxaca, Colima, and Jalisco.
Mexican authorities have opened emergency shelters, restricted access to beaches and coastal strips, and deployed 15,000 security and civil protection personnel. The Navy's Marine Plan has been activated in nine Pacific states, with further evacuations or movement restrictions possible in high-risk areas.
The US Department of State Consular Affairs issued a weather alert warning Americans that "heavy rain may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides" and advising travelers to "avoid entering the water or walking on beaches during dangerous conditions, heed warnings from local authorities, and monitor official weather updates closely."
While Hurricane Polo is not forecast to make landfall in the United States, Southern California should expect large swells, high surf, and dangerous rip currents. Moisture from the storm could move into the Southwest, adding to monsoon rainfall in parts of Arizona and New Mexico. The hurricane's remnants will eventually merge later Tuesday with an existing storm system and supercharge moisture across a large swath of the United States.
Air, maritime, and road operations across the affected Mexican states are likely to face flight delays and cancellations, ferry suspensions, port restrictions, and temporary road closures. Major road networks in coastal areas and near riverbanks are likely to be inundated during heavy rainfall, interrupting connectivity and delaying freight movement across western Mexico. Power and telecommunications outages are also likely, particularly during periods of heavy rain.