Hurricane Polo made landfall in Baja California Sur on Tuesday with 110 mph winds, triggering life-threatening floods, evacuations, and port closures. Meanwhile, Southern California braced for high surf and coastal erosion as the Pacific hurricane season continued its above-average activity.
Hurricane Polo struck land early Tuesday just south of Las Barrancas, packing maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph) while moving northeast at 13 mph (20 kph). The system arrived as a Category 2 storm after peaking as a powerful Category 3 hurricane on Sunday evening with top sustained winds of 125 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Evacuations and Storm Preparations in Baja California Sur
Ahead of the landfall, residents across Baja California Sur scrambled to reinforce homes and secure embankments. In the vulnerable fishing town of Puerto San Carlos, home to about 5,700 people, high tides and pounding waves breached sea barriers on Monday, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate to temporary shelters set up in local schools and other facilities.
Civil Protection told those of us here in San Carlos to evacuate because this is a high-risk area.
Rocío Sánchez, fisherwoman
The Mexican navy deployed three vessels to the northern Pacific coast to ship emergency aid to communities expected to be isolated by the storm.
Impacts Across Mexico and Forecast for the U.S. Southwest
Meteorologists projected 6 to 12 inches of rain across parts of Baja California Sur, carrying a severe threat of deadly flash flooding and mudslides. After raking the peninsula, Polo was slated to make a second landfall on the Mexican mainland in Sonora before weakening rapidly on Tuesday (Yahoo). In response, the government of Sonora suspended nonessential activities, public schools, and sports across the state capital and more than a dozen municipalities.
The storm’s moisture is expected to reach the United States later in the week. Remnants from Polo, combined with moisture from former hurricane Odalys, threaten to drop 4 to 8 inches of rain across portions of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas (The Washington Post). National Weather Service senior service hydrologist Andrew Mangham warned that arid canyons and rocky expanses in the American Southwest remain highly vulnerable to flash flooding (US News).
Southern California Coastline Reinforces Defenses
Farther north, coastal communities in Southern California prepared for dangerous surf and potential flooding generated by Polo’s expansion up the Pacific. Homeowners in Long Beach, still recovering from heavy damage inflicted by Hurricane Marie over Labor Day weekend, reinforced property lines with sandbags and rebuilt protective coastal berms.
Long Beach Fire Assistant Chief Jake Heflin noted that municipal crews had hydroblasted sand from storm drains and readied water pumps ahead of high tides projected to reach up to 7 feet on Monday and Tuesday (ABC7 Los Angeles). Residents expressed relief at the city’s proactive stance compared to previous storms, even as high surf and rip current advisories remained in effect across San Diego and Orange counties.
Simultaneous Pacific Storm Activity and Season Anomalies
The Pacific hurricane season continued an intense pace, with multiple systems active simultaneously. Tropical Storm Rachel tracked parallel to Mexico’s coast with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (US News).
National Weather Service lead forecaster Bob Oravec noted that the elevated storm frequency across the Pacific basin aligns directly with El Niño patterns (Yahoo). In stark contrast, the Atlantic basin has recorded zero hurricanes to date this year, marking the longest stretch without an Atlantic hurricane since 1914 (Yahoo).
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