Hurricane Polo made landfall late Monday night near Las Barrancas in the municipality of Comondú, striking the west coast of Baja California Sur as a Category 2 storm with sustained winds of 175 km/h (109 mph) and gusts up to 205 km/h (127 mph), according to Mexico’s National Hurricane Center. By Tuesday morning, authorities confirmed the storm had passed through the state without causing any deaths.
For Los Cabos residents and visitors watching the storm track, Polo stayed well north of the tourist corridor, but it’s a reminder that hurricane season runs through late November in Baja Sur. The system brought heavy rain, dangerous surf and coastal flooding risk across a wide stretch of the peninsula even outside the direct landfall zone.
What Happened in Comondú, Loreto and Mulegé
National Civil Protection coordinator Laura Velázquez Alzúa said the storm’s center passed roughly 105 kilometers from Loreto before moving into the Gulf of California, according to reporting from La Jornada. Damage was limited to street-level flooding, downed tree branches and minor water pooling — not the widespread destruction that a Category 2 hurricane can sometimes produce.
Electricity and water service continued operating normally in Comondú, Mulegé and Loreto throughout the storm, officials said. Baja California Sur Governor Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío told reporters, “The hurricane’s passage through Baja California Sur has left us with rain, but no loss of human life, which is the most important thing. We’ll evaluate material damage today.”
Shelters and Emergency Response
Around 700 people moved into temporary shelters before Polo made landfall, with residents beginning to head home Tuesday as conditions improved, according to El Economista. Nearly 6,800 federal, state and municipal personnel took part in the emergency operation, including Mexican Army and Navy units under the DN-III and Marina emergency plans, plus Red Cross volunteers and CFE electrical crews.
Both Velázquez and Castro Cosío credited residents for following evacuation orders and shelter instructions ahead of the storm, which they said helped keep the outcome free of casualties. President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo also thanked Baja California Sur residents for what she called an “extraordinary” response to official warnings.
What’s Next for the Storm
Polo weakened to a Category 1 hurricane as it crossed the Gulf of California, with a second landfall expected near Guaymas, Sonora, Tuesday morning. Sheinbaum urged residents of that port city to stay sheltered despite the storm’s reduced intensity, saying, “Even though it’s Category 1, it’s important to take shelter.”
Meanwhile, tropical storm Rachel remained under watch roughly 430 kilometers off Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, moving parallel to Mexico’s Pacific coast and out toward open water. Civil Protection said it would continue monitoring both systems, though Rachel is not currently forecast to threaten Baja California Sur.
For now, road conditions in the affected municipalities are expected to normalize quickly, and officials plan a full damage assessment in the coming days. Travelers heading to La Paz, Loreto or Mulegé in the near term should check current road and weather conditions before departing, since cleanup from fallen branches and localized flooding may still be underway in some areas.
