All storm pages · 2009 Pacific season
Hurricane Rick 2009
Category 5 hurricane · Eastern and Central Pacific · October 15 to October 21, 2009
Rick's peak sustained wind of 180 mph is the fourth-highest of the 1,262 storms in the eastern and central Pacific record since 1949, and one of 24 Category 5 storms in that record. Its central pressure fell to 906 mb, the fourth-lowest among the 754 eastern and central Pacific storms with a recorded pressure. Its winds climbed 75 mph in the 24 hours to October 17.
Strength over time
- First record (tropical depression) 265 miles south of Pochutla, Oaxaca, Mexico
- Tropical storm 255 miles south-southwest of Pochutla, Oaxaca, Mexico
- Hurricane 270 miles southwest of Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico
- Major hurricane 245 miles south-southwest of Tecpan, Guerrero, Mexico
- Peak 305 miles south-southwest of Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico
- Landfall Sinaloa: tropical storm, 60 mph, 989 mb
- Last record (tropical depression) 30 miles west-southwest of Canatlan, Durango, Mexico
Against every Pacific storm since 1949
In the 2009 season
Storm 22 of 23 in 2009, hurricane 7 of 8; it formed after Patricia and before Neki. Rick produced 17% of the season's accumulated cyclone energy. See the season.
Places the center passed
The center came within 50 miles of 6 towns or cities of 10,000 people or more while the system was tropical. Distances are to the interpolated track line, not the storm's edge.
| Place | Closest | Wind then | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico | 7 mi | 60 mph | October 21 |
| Villa Unión, Sinaloa, Mexico | 16 mi | 50 mph | October 21 |
| Canatlan, Durango, Mexico | 30 mi | 35 mph | October 21 |
| Papasquiaro, Durango, Mexico | 38 mi | 35 mph | October 21 |
| Durango, Mexico | 38 mi | 35 mph | October 21 |
| La Cruz, Sinaloa, Mexico | 49 mi | 60 mph | October 21 |
Similar landfalls in Sinaloa
Storms whose strongest landfall record in Sinaloa came closest to Rick's 60 mph:
- Rachel (1990)60 mph, October 2, 1990
- Nora (2021)50 mph, August 29, 2021
- Narda (2019)50 mph, October 1, 2019
- Pamela (2021)75 mph, October 13, 2021
A peak of its own
No other Pacific storm in the record peaked at exactly 180 mph.