Patricia Is Strongest East Pacific Hurricane on Record

Hurricane Patricia continued to intensify rapidly during the overnight hours and it is now the strongest hurricane on record for the Eastern North Pacific.  At 11:00 a.m. EDT on Friday the center of Hurricane Patricia was located at latitude 17.6°N and longitude 105.5°W which put it about 125 miles (200 km) southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico.  Patricia was moving toward the north at 10 m.p.h. (16 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 200 m.p.h. (320 km) and there were wind gusts to 245 m.p.h. (400 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 880 mb.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the portion of the coast between Sas Blas and Punta San Telmo, Mexico.  A Tropical Storm Warning and a Hurricane Watch is in effect for the portion of the coast from Punta San Telmo to Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico.

Hurricane Patricia has broken a number of records.  The maximum sustained wind speed increased from 85 m.p.h. to 200 m.p.h. between 5:00 a.m. EDT on Thursday and 5:00 a.m. EDT on Friday.  The rate of increase of 115 m.p.h. in 24 hours is the fastest rate of intensification observed in the Eastern Pacific. It exceeds the 100 m.p.h. in 24 hours that occurred in Hurricane Linda in 1997.  Interestingly, 1997 was also an El Nino year.  The minimum surface pressure of 880 mb is the lowest ever recorded in the National Hurricane Center’s Area of Responsibility which includes the Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific Oceans.  It is lower than the 882 recorded when Hurricane Wilma was over the Caribbean Sea in 2005.

Hurricane Patricia is an extremely dangerous hurricane.  It has a Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) of 50.0, a Hurricane Size Index (HSI) of 11.3 and a Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) of 61.3.  Those indices mean that Patricia will be capable of causing catastrophic regional damage when it reaches the west coast of Mexico north of Manzanillo later on Friday.  Hurricane Patricia will be capable of causing catastrophic wind damage, generating a potentially destructive storm surge near the coast and producing heavy rain and flooding as it moves inland.