By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Millions of people along the East Coast are facing flooding, high winds, dangerous surf and power outages as a powerful nor’easter moves through the region, while Hurricane Polo remains an extremely dangerous Category 5 storm in the Pacific and approaches Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.
The two major weather systems are affecting opposite sides of North America, with the nor’easter producing repeated rounds of coastal flooding from the Mid-Atlantic into the Northeast as Polo remains one of the strongest eastern Pacific hurricanes on record.
New Jersey has been among the areas experiencing substantial effects from the nor’easter, including flooded roads, high water and thousands of power outages. Storm coverage from New Jersey showed coastal communities already dealing with rising water as the storm intensified.
States of emergency have been declared in portions of New York and New Jersey as authorities prepare for additional flooding and wind damage. New York storm updates included emergency declarations covering New York City, Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island and Westchester County.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul urged residents to take the conditions seriously.
“I’m declaring a State of Emergency for Nassau, Suffolk, New York City and Westchester as this powerful coastal storm bears down on the region,” Hochul said Friday. “We’re expecting dangerous coastal flooding, strong winds and potential power outages through the weekend. Take this storm seriously. Stay alert, avoid unnecessary travel, and text 333-111 for realtime updates.”
The National Weather Service said the system was rapidly intensifying off the Mid-Atlantic coast Saturday and would approach New Jersey through Saturday night and Sunday before moving northeast Monday.
“This storm is expected to bring major coastal flooding to the Mid-Atlantic Coast over multiple high tide cycles through the weekend,” the National Weather Service said, warning of repeated inundation of low-lying coastal communities.
Forecasters warned that large breaking waves would also produce dangerous rip currents, beach erosion, road closures and property damage from the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic northward into southern New England.
Strong to gale-force winds are expected across a large portion of the East Coast, with gusts reaching approximately 45 to 65 mph across eastern Long Island and southeastern New England, according to the National Weather Service. Those winds could knock down trees and power lines.
Parts of Long Island faced some of the most serious coastal warnings.
The National Weather Service forecast 2½ to 3 feet of inundation above ground level in vulnerable areas of southern Nassau and southwestern Suffolk counties, with localized levels approaching 3½ feet. Waves of 6 to 10 feet and dangerous rip currents were also expected.
Flood warnings covered parts of New York City as well, with 1 to 2 feet of inundation possible in some vulnerable waterfront areas and higher levels elsewhere around the metropolitan coastline.
Heavy rainfall represents another concern as the system moves north.
The Weather Prediction Center placed portions of southern New England under a Slight Risk of excessive rainfall, with localized flash flooding possible in urban areas, roads, small streams and other flood-prone locations.
While the Atlantic coast deals with the nor’easter, Hurricane Polo has undergone an exceptional period of strengthening over the eastern Pacific.
The National Hurricane Center classified Polo as an “extremely dangerous” Category 5 hurricane Friday night, with maximum sustained winds of approximately 175 mph. A hurricane watch was issued for portions of Baja California Sur as forecasters projected the storm would move toward the peninsula.
Category 5 is the highest level on the official Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. It begins at sustained winds of 157 mph. There is no official Category 6 designation.
Polo’s extraordinary strength nevertheless prompted informal discussion among some meteorologists about whether storms of this magnitude illustrate a need for a higher category.
“If there will ever be Category 6, then you’re looking at it now. Hurricane Polo had an interesting Thursday with explosive convection in all directions. Today’s operation: shattering the record book,” one meteorologist said, according to a report examining the Category 6 discussion.
That description does not represent an official National Hurricane Center classification. Polo remains a Category 5 hurricane under the existing scale.
The hurricane’s rapid intensification has attracted attention from NASA scientists.
“Polo went through a period of what can only be described as explosively rapid intensification,” Gary Partyka, an atmospheric scientist with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, said. “This was RAPID, rapid intensification.”
Polo’s maximum sustained winds increased by approximately 104 mph within a 24-hour period as the storm reached Category 5 strength, according to a NASA analysis of its explosive intensification. NASA said the National Hurricane Center described the strengthening as “truly remarkable.”
A NOAA Hurricane Hunter mission estimated winds approaching 180 mph on Sept. 22. NASA said some analysts ranked that intensity as the third strongest on record in the eastern Pacific based on maximum sustained winds and described Polo as the fastest storm in the basin to progress from a tropical depression to Category 5.
The hurricane weakened temporarily during eyewall replacement cycles before returning to Category 5 strength.
National Hurricane Center advisories show Polo reaching Category 5, weakening, becoming Category 5 “once again” Wednesday night, falling back to Category 4 and then returning to Category 5 early Friday.
The repeated intensity fluctuations made Polo unusual even among the strongest hurricanes.
“The satellite imagery of Polo is very impressive, with the storm’s large, clear eye and extensive outflow pattern,” said Kristen Corbosiero, an atmospheric scientist at the State University of New York at Albany who is participating in a NASA satellite project studying tropical cyclone ventilation. “Weak winds above the system and good outflow at the top of the system also contributed to Polo’s rapid intensification.”
Ocean conditions helped provide fuel.
Polo traveled over waters reaching approximately 90 degrees Fahrenheit, about 2 to 3 degrees warmer than normal in some areas for Sept. 23. Much of the surrounding ocean was warmer than 82 degrees, a level generally sufficient to support and intensify hurricanes.
Warm water also extended below the immediate ocean surface, limiting the amount of cooler water that Polo could churn upward as it moved.
Weak vertical wind shear, high atmospheric moisture and instability combined with the unusually warm ocean to create what Partyka described as a “near perfect” environment for intensification.
Mexican authorities have been preparing for the storm’s approach, with shelters opened and residents in vulnerable coastal communities taking precautions.
The National Hurricane Center said late Friday that Polo was about 380 miles south of Cabo San Lucas and moving west-northwest at approximately 10 mph. Hurricane-force winds extended outward as far as 40 miles from its center, while tropical-storm-force winds extended as far as 125 miles.
The forecast takes Polo toward Baja California Sur, where the National Hurricane Center expects the storm to make landfall Monday as a powerful hurricane.
Moisture from Polo and other eastern Pacific tropical systems is also expected to be carried into the southwestern United States, where forecasters said it could contribute to heavy rainfall and a flash-flood threat during the weekend and early next week.
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