The circulation around Polo continues to exhibit increasing signs of intensification and it was upgraded to hurricane status on Wednesday night.  Polo is the sixteenth named tropical cyclone to form over the Eastern North Pacific Ocean during 2014 and it is the eleventh to reach hurricane intensity.

At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday the center of Hurricane Polo was located at latitude 16.4°N and longitude 104.6°W which put it about 180 miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico.  Polo was moving toward the west-northwest at 10 m.p.h.  The maximum sustained wind speed was 75 m.p.h. and the minimum surface pressure was 988 mb.

The movement of Polo has varied as the circulation has tightened around the core and more well defined spiral bands have developed.  In recent hours it has exhibited a more west-northwesterly motion after moving more toward the northwest earlier in the day.  Polo appears to be being steered mostly by an upper level high over Mexico.  The upper level high should steer Polo on a track that is roughly parallel to the west coast of Mexico.  Many of the numerical models are predicting that Polo will pass southwest of Baja California, but as Hurricane Odile showed, it could take a track closer to the coast.

Polo is moving over warm Sea Surface Temperatures and further intensification is likely.  As the organization of the circulation increases and an eye forms, a period of more rapid intensification is possible.

The government of Mexico has issued a Tropical Storm Warning for the portion of the coast from Punta San Telmo to Playa Perula.  A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for the portion of the coast from Playa Perula to Cabo Corrientes.