Category 5 Hurricane Polo is 'one of the strongest storms ever'

Hurricane Polo has grown into one of the most powerful Pacific cyclones in decades, and it was expected to skirt Mexico's southwestern coast as a Category 5 storm.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2352x1568+0+0/resize/2352x1568!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F83%2F5b%2F223069d740f8a0887f1aeb468d46%2Fap26264659913202.jpg' alt='This photo provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Polo intensifying in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026.'/><p>Hurricane Polo has grown into one of the most powerful Pacific cyclones in decades, and it was expected to skirt Mexico's southwestern coast as a Category 5 storm.</p><p>(Image credit: NOAA via AP)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-5978589' />