Hurricane Odalys forms in eastern Pacific as Polo remains powerful nearby

Odalys has strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane in the eastern Pacific, becoming the region’s newest hurricane as powerful Hurricane Polo continues farther east.

The National Hurricane Center said Odalys had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and a minimum central pressure of 989 mb Wednesday morning. The storm was located about 1,265 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, moving east-northeast at around 8 mph.

Forecasters expect some additional strengthening during the next day or two, followed by a weakening trend later this week. No coastal watches or warnings are currently in effect.

Odalys and Polo are both generating large swells across the eastern Pacific, with forecasters warning that their combined wave fields could produce confused and hazardous seas near Baja California later this week and into the weekend.

For now, the National Hurricane Center has not specifically attributed Odalys’ expected weakening to Polo’s outflow or wind shear, so I would avoid stating that as confirmed until later advisories do.