Hurricane Polo is now a Category 5 storm in the Pacific – here are its potential impacts on the US
Por Rachel Dobkin — – World RSS Feed
Hurricane Polo is now a Category 5 storm in the Pacific – here are its potential impacts on the US
Hurricane Polo could bring a surge of moisture to the Southwest, potentially leading to more showers in the region
Rachel Dobkin in New York Tuesday 22 September 2026 21:11 BST
- Bookmark
- Comments Go to comments
Bookmark popover
Removed from bookmarks
Close popover
Your support helps us to tell the story
Read more Support Now
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference. Read more
Hurricane Polo has grown into a Category 5 storm in the Pacific, and it could bring downpours to the Southwestern United States by next week.
The “extremely dangerous” storm is expected to move slowly off Mexico‘s coast over the next couple of days, the National Hurricane Center said in a Tuesday notice.
Hurricane Polo, with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph, is not expected to make landfall. But the storm is forecast to bring several inches of rain across parts of Mexico’s western coast through Thursday, which could cause “life-threatening” flooding and mudslides, the National Hurricane Center warned.
While the storm will weaken as it moves closer to the U.S., there’s a possibility of more showers across the Southwest.
“Although we don’t expect there to be any direct impacts across the U.S. at this time, there is a possibility of a surge of moisture coming up with this storm as it weakens, and basically that surge of moisture, if it occurs, can be over the Southwest,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Alexander Duffus told The Independent.
open image in galleryIn the next few days, Polo will head northwestward towards the Baja of California.
“As it heads towards the Baja of California, it’s going to continue to lose wind intensity as it approaches more wind shear in cooler waters,” Duffus said.
By the middle of next week, Americans in the Southwest could see an increase in showers, “and that could lead to downpours and the risk of localized flooding,” Duffus explained.
Duffus also warned of a potential increase in swells and a chance of rip currents while the storm is off the coast of Southwest California, “but most likely, this is going to fall apart west of the Baja and not be a huge impact in the U.S.”
open image in galleryHe said that Southern Arizona and Utah have the “biggest risk” of being hit with rain.
South-central Arizona was hit with flash floods last week.
Multiple people got their cars stuck in the floodwaters and had to be rescued, including two who were airlifted by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, according to the National Weather Service office in Phoenix.
Utah has already been hit with wet weather from an unrelated storm this week, with showers over the southwest Monday spreading northward by Tuesday afternoon, the National Weather Service office in Salt Lake City predicted.
More about
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Most popular
Popular videos
Bulletin
Read next
Fonte: – World RSS Feed