CABO HURRICANE RICK 2009

*HURRICANE RICK HAS NO IMPACT ON CABO*

Hurricane Rick rapidly grew from Tropical Storm to a giant Category 5 hurricane, in only a couple days.  It was the second strongest hurricane ever present in the Eastern Pacific (Hurricane Linda in 1997),  and the strongest in over a decade.  However, it weakened from sustained winds of 180 mph to only 55 mph almost as quickly as it grew, and ended up going well south of Cabo San Lucas, eventually making landfall about 15 miles north-northeast of Mazatlan, where it dropped a good amount of rain, and toppled a few signs and caused some brief local flooding.  Cabo San Lucas, meanwhile, was spared any damage or flooding from Hurricane Rick - there were some heavy showers for a couple of days, but residents awakened to blue skies and sunshine the next day.  You would never know there was a hurricane warning in the area just hours before.

Evacuation Update

No evacuation notice in Cabo was issued due to Hurricane Rick.

The Forecast

Hurricane Rick was initially predicted to strike the Baja sometime late Tuesday Oct 20th  or early on Wednesday Oct 21st possibly as a massive Category 5 hurricane.  However, Rick weakened quickly, and the forecast was changed first to a category 3, category 2, then a category 1, then a tropical storm.  It was first predicted to hit Cabo directly, then north near La Paz, but it ended up going quite far to the south, though, and no tropical storm conditions were present in the Cabo San Lucas area.

Current Wind Statistics for Hurricane Rick

Tropical Storm Rick made landfall in Mazatlan with sustained winds of 55 mph with tropical storm force winds extending out 150 miles from the eye.  As it passed well south of Cabo, the winds here were minimal - only about 15 mph, though with some strong gusts for a short time.  There was no damage due to wind in Cabo, business as usual.

Note: 74mph is considered a Class I Hurricane.  By comparison, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast at 135 mph, a category 4 hurricane.

What is a  Tropical Storm?

Sustained winds of between 39-73 mph.  Above that it becomes a hurricane.

Rainfall Statistics for Cabo San Lucas

Rainfall forecast during Hurricane Rick was originally anticipated at about 8.5 inches, which is about Cabo's annual rainfall total.  Flash flooding was possible, with standing water on the streets.  However, Cabo only received about 4 inches of rain over a span of two days, and street flooding was minimal.

Water Levels

Nothing to report yet.

Impact on Your Tours

There was no appreciable impact on tours in Cabo due to Hurricane Rick, as winds were minimal.  There were a few tours disrupted, of course, including cruise passengers that missed port for a couple days, so if you need to reschedule or cancel, or have a question about obtaining a refund, just give us a call.  1-877-828-2564.  The Bisbees Fishing tournament that appeared in jeopardy continued as scheduled.

What This Means to You

You will notice nothing out of the ordinary when you arrive in Cabo.  Business is going on as usual. Hurricane Rick missed by quite a large margin, and no damage occurred - just another run of the mill tropical storm as we receive many times every year.