Two powerful tropical cyclones commanded attention on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean over the weekend, with one threatening the Hawaiian Islands and the other taking aim at Mexico's Baja California peninsula.
Hurricane Polo, a major Category 3 storm, was churning northward through the open ocean off Mexico's western coast on Sunday evening, prompting warnings and preparations along a stretch of coastline popular with tourists and home to hundreds of thousands of residents. Meanwhile, Hurricane Nolo was gradually loosening its grip on Hawaii after delivering a glancing blow to the Big Island.
According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, Polo packed maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph) as of Sunday evening. The storm was positioned roughly 270 miles (435 kilometers) west of Cabo San Lucas, the resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, and was advancing to the north at 12 mph (19 kph).
Forecasters expected Polo to make landfall along the peninsula on Monday. The hurricane's approach raised the prospect of a dangerous combination of hazards, including storm surge capable of pushing seawater onto normally dry coastal land, damaging hurricane-force winds, and torrential rainfall.
The rainfall threat was of particular concern. Meteorologists warned that heavy precipitation from Polo would begin affecting the peninsula overnight Sunday into Monday and could trigger life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in the rugged terrain that characterizes much of Baja California. Flash flooding in desert and mountainous regions can develop with alarming speed, leaving residents and travelers with little time to react.
Residents across the region spent the weekend preparing. Emergency officials in Mexico typically open shelters, suspend school activities, and advise fishing communities and coastal businesses to secure property and boats ahead of a major hurricane's arrival. Cabo San Lucas and the surrounding Los Cabos municipality, which includes the sister city of San José del Cabo, are particularly vulnerable because of their dense coastal development and reliance on tourism.
The storm's impacts were not expected to be confined to the peninsula. Forecasters said Polo would cross Baja California and then move over the Mexican mainland, potentially bringing heavy rain and flooding to additional areas. Beyond that, moisture associated with the storm could reach parts of the southwestern United States later in the week, raising the possibility of flooding in a region that has already endured bouts of extreme weather in recent years.
Desert and semi-arid communities in the U.S. Southwest are especially susceptible to flash flooding when tropical moisture arrives, because dry ground absorbs water slowly and canyons and washes can fill rapidly. Even the remnants of a hurricane can produce damaging downpours far from where the storm originally made landfall.
While Polo threatened Mexico, Hawaii was beginning to emerge from its encounter with Hurricane Nolo. The storm was positioned well southwest of the islands and was moving away from the Big Island as the weekend came to a close, according to the hurricane center.
At its closest approach, Nolo still packed a punch. Its maximum sustained winds had increased to near 105 mph (165 kph), making it a powerful hurricane even as it stayed offshore. A high-wind warning, a wind advisory, and a high surf advisory remained in effect for parts of the Big Island through Sunday evening, a sign that hazardous conditions lingered even as the storm's center pulled away.
The storm had already left its mark on the island. Flooding from rainwater associated with Nolo inundated a section of the Mamalahoa highway near Naalehu, in the southern part of the Big Island, on Saturday. Fire Captain Lui Sales of the Hawaii Fire Department was photographed searching for residents who might need help amid the rising water, a scene that underscored how even a storm that avoids a direct landfall can disrupt daily life and endanger communities.
Earlier in the week, forecasters had cautioned that Nolo was expected to avoid making landfall as it strengthened, but they stressed that it would still bring dangerous flooding rains. The zig-zagging storm's erratic path kept emergency managers and residents on edge, highlighting the difficulty of predicting the behavior of tropical systems in a warming ocean environment.
The simultaneous presence of two major hurricanes in the Pacific is not unusual during the peak of the region's storm season, which generally runs from mid-May through the end of November. Ocean temperatures, atmospheric moisture, and wind patterns all influence how many storms form and how intense they become in a given year.
What happens next depends largely on Polo's exact track and strength. If the storm comes ashore as a major hurricane, it could cause significant structural damage, knock out power for extended periods, and disrupt water and transportation networks. A weaker or more offshore track would reduce those impacts, though flooding rains would remain a serious concern regardless.
Authorities on both sides of the Pacific urged residents to monitor official forecasts and follow instructions from local emergency management agencies. For Baja California, the coming days will be a test of preparedness; for Hawaii, the focus will shift toward assessing damage and cleaning up after Nolo's rains.
The Associated Press contributed reporting from Hilo, Hawaii.
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