Mexico: Hurricane Polo Makes Landfall in Baja California Sur South of Las Barrancas
Mexico · Weather
Key Facts
—Landfall. Hurricane Polo made landfall in Baja California Sur just south of Las Barrancas late on Monday night, the US National Hurricane Center confirmed at 11 p.m. local time (06:00 UTC Tuesday), with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 km/h) and a central pressure of 965 mb.
—Ongoing danger. Life-threatening winds and flash flooding are ongoing across the state; in Puerto San Carlos the storm surge breached the sea barrier and flooded streets, Mexican media reported.
—Toll so far. Two children died in Jalisco when their home was swept away — their parents are missing — and a young woman was swept away by strong currents at a Puerto Vallarta beach, according to local authorities cited by Reuters.
—What comes next. Polo is crossing the peninsula towards the Gulf of California and is forecast to make a second landfall in Sonora on Tuesday morning, still as a hurricane, before rapidly dissipating over the Sierra Madre.
—Shut down. Ports, beaches and schools are closed along the coast; Sonora has suspended classes in all 72 municipalities for Tuesday and Wednesday, and evacuations were carried out earlier in the week.
After five days stalking Mexico’s Pacific coast — and a brief reign as one of the strongest hurricanes on record in the eastern Pacific — Hurricane Polo has come ashore on the Baja California peninsula. The landfall zone is sparsely populated desert coast, but the storm’s worst weapon may yet be the rain it carries into the mountains of mainland Mexico.
Landfall South of Las Barrancas
The endgame began late on Monday night. At 11 p.m. local time (06:00 UTC on Tuesday) the National Hurricane Center in Miami declared that Polo was making landfall on the west coast of Baja California Sur just south of Las Barrancas, a sparsely populated stretch of the Comondú municipality. The centre sat at 25.9N 112.2W — about 80 miles (130 km) north of Cabo San Lazaro and 70 miles (115 km) south of Mulege — moving north-east at 13 mph.
Maximum sustained winds at landfall were estimated at 110 mph (175 km/h), a fraction below the Category 3 threshold Polo had held for most of Monday. Forecasters at AccuWeather had noted that the landfall zone is thinly populated desert, though the small towns of Las Barrancas and San Juanico — a fishing village known to surfers as Scorpion Bay — lie squarely in its path.
Only three major hurricanes have struck the Baja California peninsula in records going back to 1949, and none of them hit the west coast at major strength. The strongest previous landfalls near Polo’s path were Norbert in 2008 and Jimena in 2009, both of which came ashore just south of Puerto San Carlos with 105 mph winds; Norbert damaged more than 20,000 homes and killed 25 people.
A Night of Wind and Water
Even before the centre arrived, Polo’s surge punched through the sea barrier at Puerto San Carlos, sending seawater into the streets, Excélsior reported. In Loreto and Ciudad Constitución, restaurant and shop owners spent the night boarding up doors and windows, while the civil protection office warned residents to unplug electrical appliances and prepare alternative light sources against power cuts.
Ports along the coast have been closed to navigation, beaches shut, and classes suspended — across all of Sonora’s 72 municipalities for both Tuesday and Wednesday. Rainfall of 6 to 12 inches is forecast across Baja California Sur, with 4 to 6 inches and local maxima of 8 in southern and central Sonora; the NHC warns of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, particularly on steep terrain.
The Toll Before the Landfall
Polo was deadly long before it reached the peninsula. Days of heavy rain and destructive surf along Mexico’s south-western coast killed two children in Jalisco state when their home was swept away; their parents remain missing. A young woman was swept away by strong currents on a beach in Puerto Vallarta, according to local authorities cited by Reuters. Evacuations, port closures and school cancellations marked the storm’s week-long passage along the coasts of Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima and Nayarit.
Sonora Is Next — Then the US Southwest
Polo is now crossing the peninsula towards the Gulf of California. The NHC expects it to make a second landfall on the Sonora mainland on Tuesday morning, still at or near hurricane strength — the midday forecast carries winds of 85 mph — before the rugged terrain of the Sierra Madre tears the circulation apart later on Tuesday.
The storm’s reach will outlive it. Polo’s remnants are forecast to merge with a cut-off low over the Four Corners region, feeding heavy rain, flash flooding and gusty winds across the south-western United States and southern Plains into Wednesday; a wind advisory is already in effect for southern New Mexico and far west Texas on Tuesday. And behind Polo, Tropical Storm Rachel is advancing parallel to the Mexican coast, forecast to become a hurricane midweek and to drop more heavy rain on parts of Guerrero and Michoacán already saturated by Polo’s passage.
What We Could Not Confirm
The landfall happened in the middle of the night, local time; as of publication there was no official damage or casualty assessment from Baja California Sur’s civil protection authorities, and conditions in Las Barrancas and San Juanico themselves were not yet known. The exact wind speed at the moment the centre crossed the coast will be refined by the NHC in later advisories and may differ from the 110 mph estimate. The fate of the woman swept away in Puerto Vallarta was not confirmed in the reports we reviewed. Forecast rainfall totals are just that — forecasts — and may shift as Polo interacts with the peninsula’s mountains.
More: Mexico news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where and when did Hurricane Polo make landfall?
The US National Hurricane Center confirmed Polo made landfall in Baja California Sur just south of Las Barrancas late on Monday night, 28 September (11 p.m. local time), with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 km/h).
Has Hurricane Polo caused deaths or damage?
Before landfall, two children died in Jalisco when their home was swept away — their parents are missing — and a young woman was swept away by currents at a Puerto Vallarta beach. In Puerto San Carlos the storm surge breached the sea barrier and flooded streets. An official damage tally for Baja California Sur was not yet available at publication.
What happens to Hurricane Polo next?
Polo is crossing the peninsula and is forecast to make a second landfall in Sonora on Tuesday morning, still as a hurricane, before dissipating over the Sierra Madre. Its remnants will feed heavy rain and gusty winds into the south-western United States through Wednesday.
Connected Coverage
Polo’s landfall closes a week in which the hurricane battered Mexico’s Pacific coast and killed before ever reaching shore.
Hurricane Polo Rains Kill Two Children in Mexico
Hurricane Polo Landfall in Baja California Sur: What to Know
Sources: US National Hurricane Center; Reuters; Excélsior.
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