De-escalation: National Hurricane Center downgrades Polo to Category 4

Hurricane Polo weakened to Category 4 on Thursday while remaining offshore. It sat about 240 kilometers off Guerrero and was headed north toward Michoacán. It was not expected to make landfall.

The storm still drove six to eight meter waves and torrential rain along parts of Mexico’s Pacific coast, with winds of 70 to 90 km/h. In Lázaro Cárdenas, waves and rain cracked building facades, and Mexico deployed 1,700 troops to Michoacán as soldiers guarded the beach. At a coastal hotel, surf destroyed one of two pools and flooding reached the kitchen.

In Acapulco, residents hauled a boat ashore as heavy surf pounded the beach, pulling equipment back from rough water while the hurricane passed offshore. Locals stacked sandbags along the shoreline to try to shield homes and businesses from flooding.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources