Hurricane Polo Threatens Baja California Sur With Flooding

Hurricane Polo was moving toward Baja California Sur on Monday as a Category 3 storm, prompting warnings of potentially life-threatening flooding and mudslides while residents and authorities prepared for its expected arrival. The storm’s landfall and any resulting damage had not been confirmed in the reports available Monday. The National Hurricane Center placed Polo’s maximum sustained winds near 115 mph in an advisory cited by several accounts. Another report gave winds of 125 mph on Sunday evening, reflecting differing estimates in the storm updates. Forecasters warned that heavy rainfall could trigger dangerous flooding and mudslides, particularly in steep areas, and that coastal storm surge could bring large, destructive waves. Polo was forecast to reach the peninsula later Monday or early Tuesday. The timing and exact location remained forecasts, not confirmed outcomes. The storm was expected to cross Baja California Sur and continue toward mainland Mexico, with forecasters also warning that moisture could bring heavy rain and flooding to parts of the U.S. Southwest later in the week. Authorities in Baja California Sur took precautionary steps.