| 1997 Pacific hurricane season | |
|---|---|
 Season summary map | |
| Seasonal boundaries | |
| First system formed | June 1, 1997 |
| Last system dissipated | December 6, 1997[a] |
| Strongest storm | |
| Name | Linda (Second-most intense hurricane in the Pacific basin) |
| • Maximum winds | 185 mph (295 km/h) (1-minute sustained) |
| • Lowest pressure | 902 mbar (hPa; 26.64 inHg) |
| Seasonal statistics | |
| Total depressions | 24 |
| Total storms | 19 |
| Hurricanes | 9 |
| Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+) | 7 |
| Total fatalities | 261–531 total |
| Total damage | $551 million (1997 USD) |
| Related articles | |
The 1997 Pacific hurricane season was a very active hurricane season. With hundreds of deaths and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, this was one of the deadliest and costliest Pacific hurricane seasons on record. This was due to the exceptionally strong 1997–98 El Niño event. The season officially started on May 15, in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1, in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when almost all tropical cyclones form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.
Several storms impacted land. The first was Tropical Storm Andres which killed four people and left another two missing. In August, Tropical Storm Ignacio took an unusual path through the basin, resulting in its extratropical remnants causing minimal damage throughout the Pacific Northwest and California. Linda became the most intense east Pacific hurricane in recorded history, a record it maintained until it was surpassed by Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Although it never made landfall, it produced large surf in Southern California and as a result, five people had to be rescued. Hurricane Nora caused flooding and damage in the Southwestern United States, while Olaf made two landfalls and caused eighteen deaths and several other people were reported missing. Hurricane Pauline killed several hundred people and caused record damage in southeastern Mexico. In addition, Super Typhoons Oliwa and Paka originated in the region before crossing the International Date Line and causing significant damage in the western Pacific. There were also two Category 5 hurricanes: Linda and Guillermo.
Activity in the season was above average. The season produced 17 named storms, which was a little above normal. The average number of named storms per year is 15. The 1997 season also had 9 hurricanes, compared to the average of 8. There were also 7 major hurricanes compared to the average of 4.[1]
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- ^ National Hurricane Center (2007). "Tropical Cyclone Climatology". Archived from the original on December 13, 2007. Retrieved February 25, 2007.