An aerial view of the eye of the Hurricane Polo, at a location given as over the Pacific Ocean. [Photo Credit: Reuters]

Hurricane Polo regained Category 5 ​strength on Friday as it moved away from Mexico’s Pacific coast and into open ‌waters, while forecasters tracked a separate disturbance to the south that could develop into another tropical cyclone in the coming days.

At 8 a.m. local time, Polo was about 470 km (290 miles) southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico, with ​maximum sustained winds of 285 kph (180 mph), the US National Hurricane Center said. The ​storm was moving west at 19 kph (12 mph) and is expected to continue ⁠on that track before gradually turning northwest and north over the weekend.

The Miami-based forecaster said ​Polo could approach Baja California Sur early next week as a major hurricane, although current projections show ​it passing north of the Los Cabos resort area.

Polo continued to generate rough surf, heavy rain and strong winds along parts of Mexico’s Pacific coast on Friday after forcing evacuations, port closures and school cancellations earlier this week. ​In El Paraiso, a beach community in Colima state, powerful waves swept stones into streets near ​the shore and damaged beachfront properties.

Even as Polo moved away, forecasters warned Mexico’s Pacific coast could face another storm threat. The NHC said a tropical depression could form late this weekend or early next week in ​Polo’s wake.

Polo is expected to ​dump 4 to ⁠8 inches (10 to 20 cm) of rain across parts of Baja California Sur, with isolated totals of up to 10 inches (25 cm), enough to trigger ​life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in steep terrain, the NHC said.

The NHC ​also warned ⁠that swells generated by the storm would continue affecting southwestern Mexico over the next couple of days before spreading north along west-central Mexico and the Baja California peninsula through the weekend, bringing dangerous surf, ⁠rip ​currents and possible coastal flooding.

Forecasters have also warned that heavy ​rain and possible flooding could reach the US southwest late next week.