Hurricane Polo has grown into one of the most powerful Pacific cyclones in decades, and it was expected to skirt Mexico's southwestern coast as a Category 5 storm.

Tropical Storm Odalys is also expected to become a hurricane in the Pacific Ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The cyclone had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and will likely strengthen to hurricane-level wind speeds of 74 mph or higher Tuesday.

Hurricane Polo is a Category 5 hurricane and its maximum winds peaked at 180 mph earlier in the week after rapid intensification.

Polo's climb to 160 mph appears to be the fastest recorded in the eastern Pacific, threatening Mexico with dangerous rain and surf.

It became one of the fastest intensifying storms on record as El Niño fuels a hyperactive Pacific hurricane season.

The major hurricane could strengthen further as it surfs up the Mexican coast on "Kelvin waves."

Hurricane Polo could become a "catastrophic" category 5 storm in the coming days, forecasters have warned.

ONE of the most powerful hurricanes in decades is threatening thousands of lives even though it’s unlikely to make landfall. Hurricane Polo was a Category 5 storm on Tuesday, the highest on