Hurricane Rachel intensifies to Category 3 off Mexico as US Southwest floods from earlier storm damage

From the Newshound archive · first published 2 October 2026.

Hurricane Rachel has strengthened into a Category 3 storm off Mexico's Pacific coast with winds reaching up to 105 mph, prompting Mexican authorities to warn of landslides, surging rivers and severe flooding across Baja California Sur, Sinaloa and Jalisco. The storm comes in the wake of Hurricane Polo, which hit earlier this week and left Sonora state battered by flooding and wind damage. Rachel is currently positioned roughly 230 miles southwest of Baja California's southern tip and is forecast to hug the Mexican coastline before curving westward into the Pacific.

As Rachel moves out into the Pacific, Mexican authorities remain on alert for landslides, rivers bursting their banks and inundation in low-lying areas.

Hurricane Polo's destructive passage earlier this week unleashed flooding across northern Mexico and drove heavy rain into the US Southwest, sending desert rivers surging to dangerous levels.

Experts attribute the Pacific's unusually active hurricane season to El Niño, whose influence on sea surface temperatures and wind patterns has fuelled the formation of powerful storms.