Hurricane Polo’s Potential Impact on Southern California

Hurricane Polo is currently situated hundreds of miles off the Mexican coast, but it could still make an impact on Southern California very soon.

This powerful storm briefly reached Category 5 status on Tuesday before weakening to a Category 4 with sustained winds of 150 mph by Wednesday morning. Meteorologists are working to determine its next moves, which seems to be quite unpredictable.

While it’s unlikely that Polo will strike California directly, various “spaghetti models” indicate a few possible paths that might lead the hurricane or its remnants toward California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the coming week.

Southern California could bear the brunt of Polo’s effects first, even if the storm itself remains offshore.

This weekend could bring large swells, dangerous rip currents, and a wave of humid tropical air. The coastal conditions may worsen early next week.

Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Oxnard, mentioned that elevated surf might coincide with high tides on Monday and Tuesday, creating a potentially hazardous situation that could lead to coastal flooding.

Additionally, the National Weather Service is predicting increased surf and strong rip currents at Southern California beaches starting this weekend and lasting into next week due to multiple southerly swells heading toward the coast.

This is particularly concerning for communities like Long Beach, where residents are still recovering from severe damages inflicted during Labor Day weekend.

During that holiday, massive waves battered the Alamitos Peninsula, damaging the waterfront boardwalk, eroding substantial stretches of sand, and flooding streets with seawater.

One resident, 77-year-old Evelina Mardirossian, recounted, “The conditions were very normal… And within five minutes, the entire street became a lake.”

The flooding forced mandatory evacuations for about 20 homes situated along the seawall between 63rd Place and 67th Place.

Now, another wave of elevated surf could prompt renewed alerts for Southern California’s beach communities.

As of Wednesday morning, Polo was approximately 165 miles south of Zihuatanejo, Mexico, and was tracking slowly northward.

Experts have noted that this storm ranks among the strongest ever recorded in the Pacific Basin. Kristen L. Corbosiero, an atmospheric sciences professor, emphasized to the Associated Press the significance of Polo’s intensity.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Polo is expected to stay offshore, gradually curving northwest and west-northwest, thereby steering its strongest parts away from the U.S. Most weather models seem to support this predicted path.

However, a few models suggest distinctly different outcomes, including scenarios that could bring the storm or its remnants toward the Gulf of California and eventually into the Southwestern United States.

Meteorologist Ross Ellet mentioned that while some models foresee the storm moving into the Gulf of California, most forecasts suggest it will move northwest and away from land. This situation will require continuous monitoring in the upcoming days.

If the storm does sweep toward the U.S., Arizona looks to have the clearest route for Polo’s remnants, while other forecasts indicate that tropical moisture may spread into New Mexico and western Texas.

For California at this moment, the pressing issue isn’t the threat of a Category 4 hurricane crashing ashore.

It’s the impact that Polo could have from afar—powerful surf, hazardous currents, oppressive tropical air, and the risk of coastal flooding, especially after the recent battering of the region’s beaches.