Category 5 Hurricane Polo strengthens to 2nd-strongest on record
Polo went from 35 mph sustained winds to 160 mph sustained winds in 39 hours, another record for the Pacific Basin.
Hurricane Polo stayed out in the Pacific Ocean as it became a monster Category 5 storm on Sept. 22, but its impacts still stretched inland.
Category 5 Hurricane Polo strengthened to the second-strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Eastern Pacific basin Tuesday afternoon.
A Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance flight recorded a pressure of 26.34 inHg (892 mb) in the core of the storm, ranking just behind Hurricane Patricia in 2015.
In meteorology, hurricane strength is measured by the lowest atmospheric pressure in the center of the storm. Tuesday's 892 mb reading surpasses all pressures recorded in the Eastern Pacific since records began in 1950. Only Hurricane Patricia in 2015 had a lower pressure, at 25.75 inHg (872 mb). The previous No. 2 spot was held by Hurricane Linda in 1997 at 25.64 inHg (902 mb).
Hurricane Polo's highest sustained wind speed was 180 mph as measured by the recon plane. That ties with Hurricane Rick 2009 as the third-highest sustained winds ever measured in the Eastern Pacific Basin, exceeded again by Patricia 2015 at 215 mph and Linda 1997 at 185 mph.
From tropical depression to Category 5 in 39 hours
The rapid intensification of Polo from a Tropical Depression to a Category 5 Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale was also a record for the basin. It went from 35 mph sustained winds to 160 mph sustained winds in 39 hours, 9 hours faster than the 48 hours set by Hurricane Jova 2023 and at two other previous storms. In its increase from Tropical Storm to Category 5, Hurricane Polo tied Hurricane Otis's 2023 rapid intensification of 21 hours.
El Niño typically supercharges Eastern Pacific hurricane seasons, and this year is no exception. Hurricane Polo joins Genevieve and Lowell as the third Category 5 hurricane in the Eastern Pacific this season. By this point in the season, that has not occurred since 1994.
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