'Dangerous' Hurricane Rick threatens Mexico coast

Hurricane Rick, the strongest storm to hit the eastern north Pacific in more than a decade, lost some wind speed Sunday but none of its menace as it barrelled toward the southwest coast of Mexico.

The US National Hurricane Center called Rick "extremely dangerous" and urged anyone in the storm's path to take precautions.

The storm should crash ashore in the upscale resort town of Los Cabos on the Baja California peninsula by Wednesday, but most likely as a weakened Category Two system, Jesus Carachure with Mexico's National Weather Service told AFP.

At 2100 GMT Sunday, Rick was around 450 miles (725 kilometers) south of the resort town of Cabo San Lucas as it headed west-northwest at 14 miles (22 kilometers) per hour, parallel to Mexico's southern coast, the NHC said.

The US forecasters warned about "potentially dangerous surf conditions" caused by large ocean swells.

"Interests in southern Baja California and the southwest coast of Mexico should monitor the progress of this extremely dangerous hurricane storm," the Miami-based center said.

Rick is on track to turn northward on Tuesday and is expected to gradually weaken over the next 24 to 48 hours, the NHC said.

However, it added, "Rick remains a dangerous Category five hurricane... (and) is expected to remain a dangerous hurricane for the next couple of days."

Rick reached Category Five status on Saturday, as it churned towards Mexico's Pacific coast with winds of more than 180 miles (285 kilometers) per hour, US forecasters said.

The storm reached the top of the Saffir-Simpson scale after warm waters prompted its dramatic rise from a category one to a category five system in less than 36 hours.

"With 180 mph winds, Rick becomes the second-strongest eastern north Pacific hurricane on record after Linda of 1997," the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said at the time.

On Sunday, wind speeds diminished to near 160 miles (260 kilometers) per hour, still within a Category Five storm, NHC said.

The seventh hurricane of the eastern north Pacific 2009 season, Rick comes on the heels of Tropical Storm Patricia, which last week placed Los Cabos on Baja's southern tip under a state of emergency, before petering out.

The peninsula was battered in early September by Hurricane Jimena, which ripped roofs off houses and caused floods that killed at least one person.

Meanwhile, there have only been two hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean in the 2009 season, which runs from June 1 to late November 30, but normally peaks in September and October.

Hurricane Bill reached powerful Category Four intensity on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale in mid-August. It bypassed most of the Caribbean and the US east coast, making landfall in southeastern Canada and causing modest damage.

Hurricane Fred formed in the Atlantic in early September, but lost power over the ocean before making landfall.