MEXICO CITY (AP) — Southwestern Mexico braced for coastal flooding and mudslides Wednesday after Polo, a powerful Pacific cyclone, became a major hurricane. Forecasters also warned that Hawaii could face another onslaught of harsh weather later in the week.

Hurricane Polo, an “extremely dangerous” storm, is expected to skirt Mexico’s Guerrero state, submerging coastal areas with 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rain through Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

At its peak, Polo was a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (290 kph). It was a Category 4 by Wednesday morning, but still packing 150 mph (240 kph) top sustained winds.

“Fluctuations in intensity are expected, but Polo is expected to remain a very powerful major hurricane during the next few days,” the NHC said.

Waves, flooding and mudslides are all risks

Hurricane Polo was not expected to make landfall, meteorologists and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said, but tropical storm conditions were expected along the Pacific coast in Guerrero, Michoacan and Colima states through Thursday.

Hurricane-force winds can extend up to 40 miles (65 kilometers) from the storm's center while areas up to 105 miles (170 kilometers) from the eye will be hit by tropical storm-force winds, meteorologists said. Polo was 160 miles (260 kilometers) south of Zihuatanejo and 300 miles (480 kilometers) southeast of Manzanillo on Wednesday, the center reported.

Concepción López Villegas was busily bolstering her seaside restaurant in Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, against the expected onslaught of rain. Strong waves were already hitting the beaches and López Villegas said she feared the storm could destroy the small business she worked decades to build.

“We're worried and trying to protect our businesses,” López Villegas said. “And of course, we're sad because it's our heritage, our legacy that from one moment to another could be destroyed.”

National Hurricane Center data showed Polo’s winds had reached speeds earlier this week comparable to only a few hurricanes in the region in recent decades, primarily Hurricane Patricia, which had winds that reached 215 mph (350 kph) in 2015.

Polo was named the third Category 5 hurricane of the Pacific season on Tuesday, following Genevieve and Lowell earlier this year.

El Nino fueled rapid intensification

The rapid intensification of Hurricane Polo stunned scientists and authorities alike, with the NHC writing in a report that it was “truly remarkable” how much strength Polo gained in just 24 hours.

Philip Klotzbach, research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University, attributed the intensification to the weather phenomenon known as El Nino, which has fueled crippling droughts in Mexico and Central America and floods in other parts of the region.

In the Pacific, it has resulted in warmer waters and wind patterns that act as fodder for hurricanes, he said.

“There are all the ingredients that hurricanes need to get really strong really fast,” Klotzbach said.

Odalys strengthens into a hurricane

Hurricane Odalys meanwhile churned elsewhere in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, carrying maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph).

Odalys churned about 1,265 miles (2,036 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and was not at risk of making landfall, according to the hurricane center.

An advisory said Odalys could increase in strength over the next couple of days but would likely weaken toward the end of the week.

Hawaii could face another hurricane as soon as Friday

A tropical depression about 525 miles (845 kilometers) south-southeast of Hawaii's capital, Honolulu, could be a tropical storm by the end of the day and a hurricane by Thursday.

The hurricane center advised the island chain to monitor the progress of the system, which was projected to drop 15 to 20 inches (38 to 51 centimeters) of rain on the Big Island. Forecasters said this could cause “catastrophic life-threatening flooding and mudslides.”

The center of the cyclone was expected to approach the islands by Friday or Saturday.

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Brooks reported from Atlanta.