MEXICO CITY (AP) — 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.
asserted
it → grow → storm
Polo was an “extremely dangerous” storm with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph (265 kph), the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said Tuesday night.
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Center → base → mph
Polo was centered 210 miles (338 kilometers) south of Zihuatanejo, Mexico, and nearly stationary over the Pacific Ocean.
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Polo → center → Ocean
The hurricane center said Polo was expected to start a slow but sharp turn northwest during the night and then travel in a generally west-northwestward direction over the next several days.
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Polo → say → days
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said experts indicated that the hurricane was not likely to touch land.
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hurricane → say → land
Still, the NHC said hurricane-force winds are happening up to 40 miles (65 kilometers) from the storm’s center and tropical storm-force winds up to 105 miles (169 kilometers) away.
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winds → say → miles
The hurricane set residents along Mexico’s Pacific coast on edge once again after being walloped by powerful cyclones a number of times in recent years.
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hurricane → set → years
Beaches emptied out and dark clouds swirled above choppy seas, while Mexican authorities temporarily suspended classes Tuesday in a number of areas.
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authorities → empty → areas
Mexico’s navy shut down ports in the states of Guerrero and Michoacán and warned civilians and fishermen to take care.
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navy → shut → care
Waves, flooding and mudslides are all risks
Concepción López Villegas was busily preparing her seaside restaurant for what may come.
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what → prepare → restaurant
Strong waves were already lapping at the coastline of her city Lázaro Cárdenas in Michoacán.
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waves → lap → Michoacán
As men and children watched the stirring waters behind her, López Villegas said she feared powerful waves would destroy the small business she has worked decades to build.
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she → watch → business
“We’re worried and trying to protect our businesses,” López Villegas said.
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Villegas → try → businesses
“And of course, we’re sad because it’s our heritage, our legacy that from one moment to another could be destroyed.”
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that → ’re → another
National Hurricane Center data shows that Polo has reached speeds comparable to only a few hurricanes to form in the region in recent decades, primarily Hurricane Patricia, which reached 215 mph (346 kph) in 2015.
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which → show → 2015
“This is one of the strongest storms ever in the (Pacific) Basin,” said Kristen L. Corbosiero, professor at the University at Albany’s Department of Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences.
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Corbosiero → say → Sciences
The NHC warned that tropical storm conditions were expected along the Pacific coast in Guerrero, Michoacan and Colima states.
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conditions → warn → states
Heavy rain could produce flash flooding and mudslides.
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rain → produce → flooding
About 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 centimeters) of rain was forecast for Guerrero and Michoacán states, with smaller amounts possible for coastal portions of Oaxaca, Colima and Jalisco states.
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amounts → forecast → states
El Niño fueled rapid intensification
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Niño → fuel → intensification
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico issued a weather alert, instructing citizens to avoid water and beaches and to heed warnings from Mexican authorities.
“Even if the storm does not make direct landfall, heavy rain may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides.
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rain → issue → flooding
Hazardous ocean conditions—intensified by storms—may result in deadly rip currents and rogue waves,” the embassy wrote in a statement.
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embassy → intensify → statement
The rapid intensification of the storm has stunned scientists and authorities alike, with the NHC writing in a report that it was “truly remarkable” how quickly Polo gained strength in the past 24 hours.
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Polo → stun → hours
Philip Klotzbach, research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University, attributed the intensification to the weather phenomenon known as El Niño, which has fueled crippling droughts in Mexico and Central America and floods in other parts of the region.
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which → attribute → region
In the Pacific, it has resulted in warmer waters and wind patterns that act as fodder for hurricanes, he said.
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he → result → hurricanes
“There are all the ingredients that hurricanes need to get really strong really fast,” Klotzbach said.
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Klotzbach → be → that
Polo is the third Category 5 hurricane of the Pacific season, following Genevieve and Lowell earlier this year.
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Polo → follow → Genevieve
Category 5 is the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson scale, reflecting that a storm has maximum sustained winds exceeding 157 mph (253 kph).
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storm → reflect → mph
No Atlantic hurricanes have formed yet this year, and this year has set a record for the longest start to a season without a hurricane.
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year → form → hurricane
The effects of this year’s El Niño crush storms before they get going.
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they → crush → storms
___
Brooks reported from Atlanta.
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Brooks → report → Atlanta
The Aporia
