Hurricane Rick (2009)
Hurricane Rick reached Category 5 in the Eastern Pacific between October 14, 2009 and October 21, 2009, with a lowest pressure of 906 mb, and made landfall. It killed 1 people in the United States, by the National Weather Service’s record.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Rick, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2009 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- Eastern Pacific
- Dates
- October 14, 2009 to October 21, 2009
- Peak strength
- Category 5, 155 kt (178 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 906 mb (26.75 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 21.6
- Tropical-storm-force wind reached
- 150 nmi (278 km, 173 mi) from the center at its widest
- Hurricane-force wind reached
- 50 nmi (93 km, 58 mi) from the center at its widest
- Eyewall radius at its peak
- 10 nmi (19 km, 12 mi)
- Overall size
- 250 nmi (463 km, 288 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
- Peak gust in the best track
- 190 kt (219 mph)
- Fastest the center moved
- 22 kt (25 mph)
- Identifier
- EP202009
Deaths and damage
The sources count different things and are not added together.
NOAA Storm Events
1 deaths (1 direct, 0 indirect)$620,000
What National Weather Service offices recorded county by county in 2 states and marine areas, in the United States only. Property and crop damage as each office estimated it, which is not a national loss total.
Landfall
| Time (UTC) | Where | Position | Wind | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 21, 14:00 | Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, 12 km away | 23.3N 106.5W | 50 kt (58 mph) | 989 mb |
Landfall points the US agencies flagged in the best track. The nearest town is named from the site’s gazetteer, not from the report.
In the United States
NOAA’s Storm Events database, the record National Weather Service offices compile months after a storm, as compiled March 2026.
- Deaths
- 1 (1 direct, 0 indirect)
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $620,000
- Crop damage
- none recorded
- Events recorded
- 31 in 3 reports from 2 states and marine areas
State by state
| State or marine area | Deaths | Injuries | Damage | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 1 | 0 | $500,000 | 21 |
| Louisiana | 0 | 0 | $120,000 | 10 |
What was recorded
27 flash flood, 2 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 flood.
Tornadoes and waterspouts
2 tornadoes recorded in the United States, strongest first.
| Rating | County | State | Time (UTC) | Path | Width | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EF0 | Red River | Louisiana | Oct 22, 16:20 | 0.5 mi | 75 yd | ||
| EF0 | Natchitoches | Louisiana | Oct 22, 17:53 | 0.4 mi | 125 yd |
Wind reports
The strongest winds National Weather Service offices recorded with this storm. An estimated figure is a forecaster’s judgment from the damage, not an instrument reading.
| Wind | How | Where | State | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 kt (60 mph) | Estimated | 2.38 NNE of OXFORD | Louisiana | Oct 22, 16:13 |
What forecast offices wrote
From the Storm Events narratives, unedited.
Heavy rain caused flooding which closed several roads in San Antonio including Babcock Road at Hollyhock Road, Classen Road at Stahl Road, Encino Park Road at Southwell Road, Huebner Road at Southwell Road, and Lookout Road at Old O'Connor Road.
Bexar, Texas · Flash Flood · Oct 22, 00:28 UTC
A woman was killed while trying to cross a low water crossing. Karen Eichelberger, age 47, was driving home after working in Austin this Wednesday night. She tried to cross the flooded low water crossing on Deer Springs Drive in her neighborhood when her 1994 Jeep was apparently forced off the road and into the creek. Her body was found one half mile downstream from where the Jeep was located.
Burnet, Texas · Flash Flood · Oct 22, 04:30 UTC
Several trees were snapped along State Route 510 with several others missing large branches. The tornado briefly touched down along the highway and lifted before reaching the other side of a field. Maximum winds are estimated at 60-65 mph.
Red River, Louisiana · Tornado · Oct 22, 16:20 UTC
Numerous homes and businesses had 6 inches to 1 foot of water in them. A local school had 6 inches of water in it as well. Numerous roads were underwater. John Edwards Road had 8 inches of moving water across it.
Union, Louisiana · Flash Flood · Oct 22, 20:00 UTC
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 14, 12:00 | 7.2N 92.8W | 20 kt | 1009 mb | Disturbance |
| Oct 14, 18:00 | 7.8N 93.2W | 20 kt | 1009 mb | Disturbance |
| Oct 15, 00:00 | 9.0N 93.8W | 20 kt | 1009 mb | Disturbance |
| Oct 15, 06:00 | 10.2N 94.5W | 25 kt | 1008 mb | Disturbance |
| Oct 15, 12:00 | 11.0N 95.5W | 25 kt | 1008 mb | Disturbance |
| Oct 15, 18:00 | 11.9N 96.6W | 30 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 16, 00:00 | 12.1N 97.3W | 40 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 16, 06:00 | 12.3N 98.1W | 50 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 16, 12:00 | 12.6N 98.9W | 60 kt | 991 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 16, 18:00 | 12.9N 99.7W | 70 kt | 984 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 17, 00:00 | 13.3N 100.5W | 85 kt | 975 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 17, 06:00 | 13.8N 101.4W | 95 kt | 966 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 17, 12:00 | 14.2N 102.5W | 120 kt | 942 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 17, 18:00 | 14.6N 103.9W | 135 kt | 928 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 18, 00:00 | 14.9N 105.3W | 150 kt | 914 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 18, 06:00 | 15.2N 106.6W | 155 kt | 906 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 18, 12:00 | 15.7N 107.8W | 155 kt | 906 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 18, 18:00 | 16.2N 109.0W | 140 kt | 921 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 19, 00:00 | 16.7N 109.9W | 125 kt | 936 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 19, 06:00 | 17.1N 110.7W | 110 kt | 952 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 19, 12:00 | 17.7N 111.3W | 95 kt | 965 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 19, 18:00 | 18.2N 111.6W | 75 kt | 976 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 20, 00:00 | 18.7N 111.8W | 65 kt | 984 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 20, 06:00 | 19.3N 111.6W | 60 kt | 986 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 20, 12:00 | 19.8N 111.2W | 55 kt | 989 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 20, 18:00 | 20.2N 110.5W | 55 kt | 989 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 21, 00:00 | 20.8N 109.7W | 55 kt | 989 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 21, 06:00 | 21.7N 108.6W | 55 kt | 989 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 21, 12:00 | 22.8N 107.2W | 50 kt | 989 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 21, 14:00 landfall | 23.3N 106.5W | 50 kt | 989 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 21, 18:00 | 23.9N 105.7W | 30 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical depression |
Other Eastern Pacific storms of 2009
- Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 2009
- Hurricane AndresEastern Pacific · 2009
- Tropical Storm BlancaEastern Pacific · 2009
- Hurricane CarlosEastern Pacific · 2009
- Tropical Storm DoloresEastern Pacific · 2009
- Tropical Storm LanaEastern Pacific · 2009
- Hurricane FeliciaEastern Pacific · 2009
- Tropical Storm EnriqueEastern Pacific · 2009
- Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 2009
- Tropical Storm MakaEastern Pacific · 2009
- Hurricane GuillermoEastern Pacific · 2009
- Tropical Storm HildaEastern Pacific · 2009
- Tropical Storm IgnacioEastern Pacific · 2009
- Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 2009
- Tropical Storm KevinEastern Pacific · 2009
- Hurricane JimenaEastern Pacific · 2009
- Hurricane LindaEastern Pacific · 2009
- Tropical Storm MartyEastern Pacific · 2009
- Tropical Storm NoraEastern Pacific · 2009
- Tropical Storm OlafEastern Pacific · 2009
- Tropical Storm PatriciaEastern Pacific · 2009
- Hurricane NekiEastern Pacific · 2009
What this means
A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.
Sources
Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.