Hurricane Polo has gone from tropical storm to atmospheric freak in barely a day, exploding into one of the strongest Pacific hurricanes on record. And “exploding” is hardly an exaggeration. Polo’s maximum sustained winds jumped roughly 110 mph in 24 hours , from a 50-mph tropical storm Monday morning to Category 5 strength Tuesday. The Weather Channel notes that increase came within 10 mph of Hurricane Patricia’s world-record rapid-intensification mark. View this post on Instagram By Tuesday afternoon, NOAA Hurricane Hunter data showed Polo packing 180-mph winds south of Mexico. University at Albany atmospheric scientist Kristen Corbosiero called it “one of the strongest storms ever in the Pacific Basin.” Interestingly, Polo isn’t physically enormous. NOAA describes it as a relatively compact cyclone, with hurricane-force winds extending only about 30 miles from its eye. Its notoriety comes from intensity.…