Hurricane Rick Roars Closer To Category Five 10-17-09 Saturday Evening

Hurricane Rick continues aggressive growth, roaring to near category five status as of Saturday evening.
The latest on Hurricane Rick
Sustained Winds: 150 mph
Moving: WNW 15 mph
Estimated Central Pressure: 934 mb
Rick has clearly benefited from nearly perfect conditions during the day: minimal vertical wind shear (below 10 kt), sea surface temperatures near 86 F and little interaction with the Mexican coastline to the northeast.
Expectations are that Rick will remain in a favorable environment for further strengthening as the consensus model intensity has the storm maxing out with sustained winds near 155-165 mph early Sunday before a weakening phase begins by Monday.
A trough to the north approaching the US West Coast will weaken the ridge to the north of Hurricane Rick, beginning to set the stage for Rick's rather rapid turn to the north and eventually northeast across the southern tip of Baja California.
Rick is still expected to have sustained winds near 85-100 mph as the storm moves inland just to the north of Cabo San Lucas.

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