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Climate133 outlets ran this3 min read

Tropical Storm Rachel Intensifies, Polo Weakens Over Sonora

Rachel is expected to bring heavy rains to several Mexican states, while Polo has downgraded.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published Updated
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What this story says

  • Tropical Storm Rachel is intensifying south of the coasts of Colima and Jalisco.
  • Rachel is forecast to generate heavy rains in Michoacán, Guerrero, and Oaxaca.
  • Polo has weakened to a tropical storm over Sonora, having previously made landfall in Baja California Sur.
  • Rachel could become a hurricane by the night of September 29 or early morning of September 30.

Who covered it

Left 24%(18)Centre 61%(45)Right 15%(11)

Percentages are shares of the 74 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 59 of the 133 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

57/100

Hype

41/100

133 sources · methodology

Missing from the left

Only 18 of the 74 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

A reader who follows the left would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.

Tropical Storm Rachel is intensifying south of the coasts of Colima and Jalisco. The storm is expected to generate heavy rains in Michoacán, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. Intense rainfall of 150 to 250 millimetres is forecast for Michoacán, with 75 to 150 millimetres expected in Guerrero and Oaxaca. Colima and the coast of Jalisco could see very strong rains of 50 to 75 millimetres. Rachel could become a hurricane by the night of September 29 or early morning of September 30. The storm is moving northwest and is located west-southwest of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, and south of Cabo Corriente, Jalisco. While it is not expected to have a direct impact on Mexico, its circulation will cause heavy rainfall.

Tropical Storm Polo has weakened over Sonora. It previously made landfall near Comondú, Baja California Sur, before moving over Sonora. Polo is located northeast of Guaymas, Sonora, and is moving north-west. Reports indicate it is expected to continue losing intensity and dissipate on Wednesday.

Disagreements in reporting

Reports differ on the exact timing of Rachel's potential hurricane status. TV Azteca stated Rachel could become a hurricane during the night of September 29 or early morning of September 30. El Economista and El Diario, however, reported that Polo had degraded to a tropical storm, with no mention of Rachel's hurricane potential in their digests.

What the coverage left out

None of the centre-rated reports mentioned the specific rainfall amounts forecast for Michoacán, Guerrero, and Oaxaca, which were detailed in the right-rated report. Additionally, no left-rated outlet ran this story.

Tags:#TropicalStormRachel#TropicalStormPolo#MexicoWeather#Climate

Coverage settled. We checked this 9 times and stopped on 5 Oct 2026, 17:15. The figures above are what it finished at.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

Crédito: Tomada de @cepcsonora
El DiarioCentre

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

18 rated outlets

  • The NPR digest said remnants of the storm struck the U.S. Southwest, flooding roads and leading residents of small New Mexico towns to evacuate over concerns a dam might fail. The SDPnoticias.com digest recorded that Polo entered Sonora as a category 1 system and that Conagua opened shelters and issued rain alerts near storm Rachel. The t‑online digest reported that coastal areas in north‑west Mexico saw flooded roads, downed trees and power outages.
  • None of the left‑rated digests mention that Polo weakened after crossing Sonora, nor do they provide an estimate of damage costs or describe Rachel’s intensification. The absence of those details is consistent across the NPR, SDPnoticias.com, Georgia Public Broadcasting and t‑online summaries.

Centre

45 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated reports focused on the weakening of Tropical Storm Polo. UPI reported Polo was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved over northwestern Mexico, with heavy rains continuing. Hola News stated Polo weakened to a tropical storm in Sonora, touching land for the second time and expected to dissipate. El Diario also reported Polo becoming a tropical storm over Sonora due to decreased wind strength.

Right

11 rated outlets

  • The right-rated reports highlighted the intensification of Tropical Storm Rachel and its potential to become a hurricane. TV Azteca's full report detailed Rachel's trajectory, its potential to become a major hurricane, and the heavy rains expected in several states, including Michoacán, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. It also noted local measures like beach closures and navigation restrictions in Manzanillo due to strong waves. Reforma's digest focused on Polo becoming a tropical storm over Sonora.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Tropical Storm Rachel Intensifies, Polo Weakens Over Sonora?
Of the 74 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 24% are rated left, 61% are rated centre, 15% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 133. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Tropical Storm Rachel Intensifies, Polo Weakens Over Sonora left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 74 rated outlets on this story, 24% are rated left, 61% are rated centre, 15% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Tropical Storm Rachel Intensifies, Polo Weakens Over Sonora biased?
Tropical Storm Rachel Intensifies, Polo Weakens Over Sonora is one event reported by 133 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Tropical Storm Rachel Intensifies, Polo Weakens Over Sonora?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Tropical Storm Rachel Intensifies, Polo Weakens Over Sonora?
133 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What is the current status of Tropical Storm Rachel?
Tropical Storm Rachel is intensifying south of the coasts of Colima and Jalisco. It is expected to generate heavy rains in Michoacán, Guerrero, and Oaxaca and could become a hurricane by the night of September 29 or early morning of September 30.
What happened to Tropical Storm Polo?
Tropical Storm Polo has weakened over Sonora after making landfall in Baja California Sur. It is located northeast of Guaymas and is expected to continue losing intensity and dissipate.
Which states are expected to receive heavy rains from Rachel?
Michoacán is expected to receive the most intense rainfall, between 150 and 250 millimetres. Guerrero and Oaxaca could see intense rains of 75 to 150 millimetres, while Colima and the coast of Jalisco might experience very strong rains of 50 to 75 millimetres.

Read it at the source

137 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

18
Show 10 more

Centre

45
Show 37 more

Right

12
Show 4 more

Not rated

62
Show 54 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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