Powerful Hurricane Polo drenches Mexico's coast as Nolo takes aim at Hawaii

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Residents of Mexico’s Pacific coast piled sandbags to protect beachfront shops and evacuated homes, while Hawaii’s Big Island braced for potentially catastrophic flooding as two separate storms threatened their shores on Thursday.

Hurricane Polo poured bands of heavy rain across Mexico's western edge just as a growing Tropical Storm Nolo approached Hawaii with rains that could dump more than 2 feet (60 centimeters) across islands still recovering from a string of storms.

Polo has seesawed between Category 4 and 5 — both major-hurricane strength— and is on track to skirt Mexico's coast over the next few days. Rain and strong winds were already pummeling the coast, with waves crashing onto the normally pristine beaches.

While the eye and the strongest winds were expected to remain at sea, heavy rains could cause life-threatening flooding and landslides, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Farther west in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Nolo was churning a couple hundred miles from the southern tip of Hawaii's Big Island. Nolo was forecast to strengthen and bring hurricane conditions to there by Friday night. A hurricane watch was issued for the island and schools were closed for the rest of the week.

Forecasters said the storm could drop 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain on the Big Island, with higher amounts possible through Saturday. The island of Maui could also be hit with life-threatening floods, the hurricane center said.

The series of hurricanes come as the weather phenomenon El Niño prompts major environmental shifts across the world, fueling drought in some areas and flooding in others. As El Niño traditionally dampens the Atlantic hurricane season , it tends to rev up tropical cyclone activity in the Pacific, with moist air and little wind shear.

Mexican authorities were opening shelters and clearing people from beaches, while coastal residents tried to protect businesses from getting swept away. People in high-risk areas were being evacuated.

Much of the worry from locals came from hurricanes in past years that devastated cities along the Pacific coast. Hurricane Otis in 2023 unexpectedly plunged Acapulco into turmoil for weeks.

“So many people said it wouldn’t happen and then it did. After that, you’re left on edge,” said Gonzalo Ramírez, a bartender in the city.

Guerrero state was particularly at risk of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, the hurricane center said.

Polo was swirling about 195 miles (315 kilometers) west-southwest of Zihuatanejo early Thursday. It was forecast to move further out to sea before turning back toward the coast Saturday.

The storm was expected to remain a major hurricane for the next few days. Hurricane-force winds extended up to 40 miles (65 kilometers) from the eye and tropical-storm-force winds stretched up to 125 miles (205 kilometers).

The region most under threat from Polo is further south along the rural and mountainous coast of Michoacan and Guerrero, scattered with a few small tourist towns and ports. Much of the area is marked by poverty and residents routinely complain they are left to fend for themselves during natural disasters.

Mexican authorities have deployed 15,000 security personnel across the coast and suspended schools as a precaution. Authorities didn’t immediately say how many people had been evacuated.

Projections from the U.S. National Hurricane Center show Polo could arc back as a weakened storm and hit Mexico's Baja California on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service said Tropical Storm Nolo would likely strengthen before closing in on the Big Island on Friday.

The storm has the potential to be a major hurricane, said John Bravender, a weather service warning coordination meteorologist, during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

While high winds are expected, Bravender said the main concern is flash flooding. The heavy rainfall coming to the Big Island could impact the same southeastern region hit hard in August by Hurricane Lala .

“That by itself could cause catastrophic flooding, but when you put that on top of grounds that we’ve been raining off and on for the last couple of months … that rain could cause even more damage,” Bravender said.

Hawaii officials told residents to put together emergency kits and the governor issued an emergency proclamation, activating more than 230 Hawaii National Guard members.

Hawaiian Electric, the state’s primary utility, said crews that had been assisting Kauai restore power after this month’s Hurricane Lowell would return to Oahu, Maui and the Big Island in preparation for the coming storm.

In the northern Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Fay re-formed early Thursday, the U.S. hurricane center said. It was nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) west-southwest of the Azores.

In the Pacific, Hurricane Odalys was centered about 1,110 miles (1,785 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.

Aoun reported from San Diego. Associated Press writer Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.