Second Strongest Hurricane On Record In Eastern Pacific Aims for Cabo

Officials at the National Hurricane Center are now calling Hurricane Rick the second strongest hurricane on record in the Eastern Pacific. As of 8pm Pacific time, Rick was located 295 miles South-Southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, moving West-Northwest near 14 mph. The storm is expected to make a turn to the North by Monday. Maximum sustained winds are now up to 180 mph, with stronger gusts -making Rick an extremely dangerous Category Five Hurricane. Additional strengthening is possible overnight, before a slow gradual weakening commences.

Most forecast models show a weakened version of Hurricane Rick hitting southern tip of Baja by the middle part of next week. Anyone planning travel to this region should keep turned to changing weather conditions, and possible air travel disruptions.

Pictured above: Infrared image of Hurricane Rick with a most impressive stadium-like eye wall surrounding a beautiful 10-nautical mile wide eye.

Hurricane Jimena Gaining Strength Off Coast of Mexico

Travelers to Baja California/Cabo should monitor the latest Hurricane Center updates.

As of 11:00 PM Eastern:

Hurricane Watch issued for Southern Baja Region

Jimena was located 255 miles SSW of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico, moving NW at 7mph. Maximum sustained winds are 145mph, making it a Category 4 - major hurricane. The likely track of the storm is illustrated to the left, courtesy of Weather Underground.

Travel Alert Issued for Mexico-Bound Travelers

Due to health risks related to Swine Flu, the State Department issued a travel alert for U.S. residents planning travel into Mexico. In a statement issued April 27th, the notice recommends citizens avoid all nonessential travel to Mexico at this time. For those who must travel to Mexico, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended several measures one can take to reduce their risk of infection while in Mexico. 

Read more: Understanding Swine Flu Spread: Questions and Answers (Bloomberg.com)

NASA: 'You don't want to know what we know about flying safely'

Anxious to avoid upsetting air travelers, NASA is withholding results from an unprecedented national survey of pilots that found safety problems like near collisions and runway interference occur far more frequently than the government previously recognized.

A senior NASA official, associate administrator Thomas S. Luedtke, said revealing the findings could damage the public's confidence in airlines and affect airline profits.

Among other results, the pilots reported at least twice as many bird strikes, near mid-air collisions and runway incursions as other government monitoring systems show, according to a person familiar with the results who was not authorized to discuss them publicly. CBS NEWS

Hurricane Dean Travel Advisory
Among others, Spirit and Delta Airlines have issued travel advisories and relaxed travel rules for passengers with travel plans into the Bahamas and Caribbean over the next few days.

As of 10am Saturday, Hurricane Dean, a Category 4 Hurricane was expected to rip through the island of Jamaica later Sunday, then head toward the Gulf of Mexico in the U.S.

Anyone planning travel into the Southeast U.S over the next several days should also monitor the storm track of Dean.