On September 22 (local time), according to the latest storm news from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), Typhoon Polo continues to maintain an extremely dangerous level 5 intensity off the southwest coast of Mexico, after a US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) storm hunting aircraft flew into the system and recorded wind and pressure at a particularly low level.
According to the NHC, NOAA's storm hunting aircraft recorded Polo's maximum sustained winds of about 285 km/h, while the central pressure dropped to 892 hPa. As of 3 pm on September 22, the storm's center was at 14.6 degrees North latitude and 101.5 degrees West longitude, about 345km south of Zihuatanejo in Mexico.
With this wind force, Typhoon Polo reached Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the highest level of the typhoon classification scale. The NHC believes that Polo may continue to maintain very strong power in the coming days, although intensity may fluctuate.
NHC data shows that Polo has reached intensity equivalent to only a few storms that have formed in this area in recent decades, notably Hurricane Patricia in 2015.
Professor Kristen L. Corbosiero of the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the University of Albany, said Polo is "one of the strongest storms ever to occur in the Pacific basin.
According to the NHC, Polo is almost stationary at the time of the update, then is forecast to gradually move west-northwest in the coming days.
Although not predicted to make direct landfall, Polo could still have serious impacts in Mexico. The NHC warned that tropical storm conditions could appear in coastal areas under warning from the morning of September 23. Rain caused by Polo could reach 76-152mm, in some places up to 203mm in coastal areas of Guerrero and Michoacán until September 24, increasing the risk of life-threatening floods and landslides.
Big waves created by Polo are also forecast to affect the southwestern coast of Mexico, causing dangerous offshore currents and coastal flooding.
The US Embassy in Mexico advises citizens to avoid beaches and comply with the instructions of Mexican authorities.
