Hurricane Polo Strengthens to Category 5, May Bring Rain to U.S. Southwest

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.

In 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.”

He 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.