Hurricane Paula was a small hurricane that struck Honduras and Cuba in October 2010. The eighteenth tropical cyclone, sixteenth named storm, and ninth hurricane of the season, Paula developed from a low pressure area over the southwestern Caribbean Sea on October 11. Moving northwestward, it slowly organized and was upgraded to a tropical storm shortly thereafter. Around midday on October 11, Paula made landfall near Cabo Gracias a Dios at the border of Honduras and Nicaragua. In northeastern Honduras, strong winds destroyed several homes, while rainfall destroyed a few roads and dozens of buildings, include a school and a police station. Favorable conditions such as low wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures allowed Paula to reach hurricane status early on October 12. Further intensification occurred, and the storm peaked with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h) while curving northward on October 13. Category 2 hurricane: peak winds of 105 mph (90 knots), lowest pressure 981 mb. October 11 – October 15, 2010. Landfalls: October 11 at 50 mph, 15.0°N 83.2°W; October 14 at 65 mph, 22.7°N 83.9°W. Accumulated cyclone energy: 7.5. Wiki link Track: NOAA National Hurricane Center, HURDAT2 best track AL182010 (public domain).