Category 5 Hurricane Polo remains extremely powerful off southwestern Mexico

Hurricane Polo remains a Category 5 storm off the southwestern coast of Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 260 km/h, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

As of 3 a.m. CST Thursday, Polo was located about 240 km west-southwest of Zihuatanejo and 290 km south-southeast of Manzanillo.

The hurricane is moving northwest at about 15 km/h. A turn toward the west-northwest is expected later Thursday and Friday, followed by a northwestward motion Saturday.

The National Hurricane Center says Polo's core is expected to remain offshore of southwestern Mexico Thursday before moving farther out to sea.

The storm has a minimum central pressure of 923 millibars. Hurricane-force winds extend up to 65 km from the centre, while tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 205 km.

Tropical storm warnings remain in effect

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from Tecpan de Galeana to Manzanillo.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect from west of Manzanillo to Playa Perula.

Heavy rain and dangerous surf expected

Polo is expected to produce 4 to 6 inches of rain, with isolated totals of up to 8 inches, across coastal portions of Guerrero through Thursday.

The rainfall could cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides, particularly in areas of steep terrain.

Coastal portions of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco could receive 2 to 4 inches of rain.

Large swells generated by Polo are expected to affect southwestern Mexico over the next several days. Swells will spread northward along the west-central Mexican coast and toward Baja California Sur Friday and into the weekend.

The swells could produce life-threatening surf, rip currents and coastal flooding.

The National Hurricane Center says Polo could strengthen further in the near term and is expected to remain a powerful major hurricane for the next several days.