Hurricane Rick continues to strengthen, expected to make landfall late Sunday
Rick will make landfall late Sunday night into early Monday.
Hurricane Rick - Sunday, October 24, 2021.
(FOX Weather)
Hurricane Rick continues to strengthen in the eastern Pacific as it nears southern Mexico.
Rick will make landfall late Sunday night into early Monday. It will bring life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds to southern Mexico.
Heavy rains associated with this storm will move into the Mexican states of Guerrero and Michoacan, the National Hurricane Center says. The flooding rains could cause significant issues and lead to mudslides in the mountainous regions.
At 10:00 a.m. CDT Sunday, Rick had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and a central pressure of 980 MB.
Rick will quickly weaken as it makes its way inland, but similar to Hurricane Pamela, its remnants will help drive moisture into the southern United States.
Pacific cyclones impact U.S. mainland
For the second time in a month, the remnants of a Pacific hurricane will impact parts of the United States.
Like Pamela in mid-October, forecast models show moisture from Rick streaming northward into parts of the western Gulf of Mexico.
Meteorologists don't anticipate the rains associated with Rick's remnants to produce as many problems as Texans saw during the previous system.
Forecast models show as much as two inches of rain impacting isolated spots along the Gulf Coast starting Tuesday.
Meteorologists say seeing back-to-back impacts from Pacific cyclones in the U.S. mainland is a rare event, especially during a La Niña year.
The eastern Pacific's hurricane season runs from May 15 until December 30.
(National Hurricane Center)
Despite La Niña, the Pacific remains active
During a La Niña year, typically, moisture is absent in the eastern Pacific, which leads to fewer tropical cyclones.
But the steady development of systems in 2021 means that the basin will finish the season near average.
A normal year in the eastern Pacific sees 15 named storms, eight hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
So far in 2021, 17 named storms have formed, eight have gone on to become hurricanes, and only two have strengthened to major hurricane status with winds of at least 115 mph.
Similar to the Atlantic, the eastern Pacific's hurricane season will run through November 30.