Hurricane Polo makes landfall on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula

Hurricane Polo made landfall on Mexico's Baja California peninsula. The Mexican weather service Conagua reported sustained winds of around 175 kilometres per hour. According to CBS News, Polo made its first landfall in Mexico's Baja California Sur as a hurricane and made a second landfall in Sonora, Mexico, after crossing the Gulf of California.

The storm was later downgraded to a tropical storm, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, and was centred about 275 miles southwest of El Paso. The National Hurricane Center forecast that Polo would continue along its path into the southwestern United States. Flash flood watches were in effect from Phoenix, Arizona to Des Moines, Iowa, with heavy rain expected to continue as the storm moves through the region.

Mexico News Daily reported that Polo's rapid intensification was "truly remarkable" and one of the most rapid storm intensifications in recorded history. The storm's development was aided by climate change and an exceptionally strong El Niño weather pattern. According to CBC News, Polo made a second landfall on Mexico's northwestern Pacific coast after drenching the southern Baja California peninsula.

Brief written by urgent.news from Qatar Tribune, CBS News, Mexico News Daily, CBC News, Mongabay — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.