 Hurricane Rick is the third @-@ most intense Pacific hurricane on record . Developing south of Mexico on October 15 , 2009 , Hurricane Rick traversed an area favoring rapid intensification , allowing it to become a hurricane within 24 hours of being declared a tropical depression . An eye began to form during the afternoon of October 16 ; once fully formed , the storm underwent another period of rapid strengthening . During the afternoon of October 17 , the storm attained Category 5 status on the Saffir – Simpson hurricane wind scale . Several hours later , Rick attained its peak intensity as the third @-@ strongest Pacific hurricane on record with winds of 180 mph ( 285 km / h ) and a barometric pressure of 906 mbar ( hPa ; 26 @.@ 75 inHg ) . 
