*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.
*A
tropical storm warning was issued for the Cabo
San Lucas area, but no tropical storm conditions
ever reached Cabo. A tropical storm warning means
that tropical storm conditions are expected
somewhere within the warning area within 24 hours.
This also means there was no predicted chance of hurricane
conditions within Cabo San Lucas by the time it
reached the coastline.*
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. 1-866-348-6286.
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.
