Turbo-charged Hurricane Patricia is on track to deliver a devastating one-two punch: landfall as a major hurricane on Mexico's Pacific coast, followed by the storm feeding an extreme rainfall event in parts in Texas. Drawing on near record-warm sea-surface temperatures of 30.5°C or 87°F (1-2°C above average), Patricia is also taking advantage of very light wind shear (5 - 10 knots) and rich atmospheric moisture (greater than 70% relative humidity). Within a span of just 27 hours, from 15Z Thursday to 18Z Friday, Patricia metamorphosed from a minimal tropical storm (top sustained winds of 40 mph) to a Category 4 hurricane (130 mph). This puts Patricia among the top rapid intensifiers in the modern record of hurricane monitoring. Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR) data collected from aboard a NOAA Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance flight confirmed a peak wind of 114 knots (131 mph) on Thursday afternoon near 1:30 pm EDT.
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