Hurricane Polo, a large storm off the coast of Mexico, has been downgraded to category 4 but remains «very powerful», the US National Hurricane Center said.
The Pacific hurricane, one of the strongest of the season, was projected to head towards the coast of south-western Mexico, bringing intense wind and rain, though was not expected to make landfall.
A Hurricane Hunter aircraft, operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), flew into the storm on Tuesday and recorded sustained wind speeds near 180 mph (285 km/h), with stronger gusts.
The slow-moving storm is being fuelled by extremely warm waters caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon.
It was previously a category 5 storm – the highest level on the scale – but was downgraded to category 4 on Wednesday morning.
As it slowly drifts northwest, Polo will drive torrential rainfall in parts of Mexico’s south-west coast, and «may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain,» the forecaster said.
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