The old expression, “when it rains, it pours,” seems to be coming to fruition with fierce intensity these days. Hurricane Polo is the latest example, a mega storm that shattered records to the point of being nearly unprecedented in recorded history.
For months now we’ve been hearing about El Niño this, and El Niño that, well, it’s happening now before our very eyes, and there are still months to go. Hopefully, we can all stay on the safe side of these storms and that they bring much-needed relief rather than destruction. The amount of rain coming from Polo alone could help many drought-stricken areas, but there’s also the real possibility that it could be too much, too fast. Let’s take a look at the numbers…
Polo spun up into a Category 5 hurricane in the Eastern Pacific, with sustained winds reaching 180 mph. That ties it for the third Category 5 of the season and makes it the second-most-intense Pacific hurricane ever recorded. By the time it reached land, Polo had weakened and lost hurricane status, but its leftovers pushed into northwestern Mexico before sweeping across New Mexico and Texas, dragging a historic plume of tropical moisture behind it.
Forecasters estimate Polo’s remnants alone could dump as much as 34 trillion gallons of rain across the Southwest and Central U.S. Add in Hurricane Rachel, which has been feeding the same moisture plume, and the combined total climbs closer to 70 trillion gallons dumped across the region. Ten states are bracing for dangerous downpours this week, with rainfall rates hitting up to two inches per hour in spots. Texas is squarely in the center of it all, with Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio all expecting 3 to 5 inches, and possibly more, on top of saturated ground.
A historic El Niño winter was always going to bring extra moisture, and after years of drought across parts of the Southwest, that moisture is desperately needed. But storms like Polo are a reminder that relief and disaster can arrive in the same breath. Whether this week’s rain refills reservoirs or overwhelms them may come down to how fast it falls, not just how much.
Pay attention to your local advisories and don’t travel if not necessary. Stay safe out there.
Related: Tropical Storm Rachel Is Brewing Behind Polo in a Hyperactive Pacific (Video)
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