Hurricane Polo, churning near Mexico’s Pacific coast, has rapidly intensified into a Category 4 storm.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), based in Miami, announced the development.
According to the report, maximum sustained winds have reached 215 kilometers per hour. Forecasters warned that the hurricane could strengthen further in the coming days and reach Category 5, the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
Although the hurricane is not expected to make a direct landfall, its center is forecast to pass close to Mexico’s southwestern coast. As a result, heavy rainfall is expected in coastal areas of the states of Guerrero and Michoacan through Thursday.
The agency said heavy precipitation could trigger life-threatening floods and landslides, particularly in mountainous areas. Storm warnings have also been issued for the coastal states of Colima and Jalisco.
