Template:POTD/2012-12-22
Hurricane Rick was the second-most intense Pacific hurricane on record and the strongest ever to form during October. Developing south of Mexico on October 15, 2009, the storm attained Category 5 status on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale two days later and soon attained its peak intensity with winds of 180 mph (290 km/h; 156 kn) and the barometric pressure bottomed out at 906 mbar (906.00 hPa; 26.75 inHg). By the time it made landfall near Mazatlán, its winds had dropped to 55 mph (89 km/h; 48 kn) and it was reclassified as a tropical depression a few hours later.Photo: NASA/MODIS Rapid Response Team