Category 5 Hurricane Polo Could Send Rain, Dangerous Surf To Battered SoCal – Patch

Category 5 Hurricane Polo Could Send Rain, Dangerous Surf To Battered SoCal  Patch

Polo rapidly strengthened into a rare Category 5 hurricane Tuesday. Forecasters warned it could bring "extremely dangerous" impacts. LOS ANGELES, CA — Hurricane Polo rapidly strengthened into a rare Category 5 storm off the coast of Mexico Tuesday morning, raising the possibility of another round of large surf, dangerous rip currents and tropical moisture in Southern California later this week. Exactly what Polo will mean for the region remains highly uncertain, however, and National Weather Service forecasts do not currently call for widespread rain in Southern California. As of Tuesday morning, Polo had maximum sustained winds of 165 mph and was drifting north at about 2 mph off southwestern Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center, which warned the storm could bring "extremely dangerous" impacts to Mexico.

The storm is expected to turn toward the northwest Wednesday, with its core forecast to remain offshore as it tracks near southwestern Mexico over the next several days, dumping up to 8 inches of rain over parts of Guerrero and Michoacán through Thursday, creating a risk of life-threatening flooding and mudslides. The National Weather Service said Polo and another cyclone, Tropical Storm Odalys, could send another round of swells toward the region by early next week, potentially producing large surf and dangerous rip currents along south- and southwest-facing beaches. Increasing mid- and high-level