 Hurricane Pauline at peak intensity nearing landfall in Mexico on October 8 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | October 5, 1997 |
| Dissipated | October 10, 1997 |
| Category 4 major hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 130 mph (215 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 948 mbar (hPa); 27.99 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 230–500 confirmed |
| Damage | $448 million (1997 USD) |
| Areas affected | Southwestern Guerrero, Oaxaca |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1997 Pacific hurricane season | |
Hurricane Pauline was one of the deadliest Pacific hurricanes to make landfall in Mexico. The sixteenth tropical storm, eighth hurricane, and seventh major hurricane of the 1997 Pacific hurricane season, Pauline developed out of a tropical wave from Africa on September 16, 1997, moving across South America and into the Pacific Ocean. On October 5, the depression intensified into a tropical storm early the next day and by October 7, Pauline had reached hurricane intensity. It initially moved eastward, then turned northwestward and quickly strengthened to reach peak winds of 135 mph (217 km/h). It paralleled the Mexican coastline a short distance offshore before weakening and making landfall near Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca, on October 9, and dissipated the next day.
Hurricane Pauline produced torrential rainfall along the Mexican coastline, peaking at 32.62 inches (829 mm) in Puente Jula. Intense flooding and mudslides in some of the poorest areas of Mexico killed between 230 and 500 people, making it one of the deadliest Eastern Pacific storms in recorded history. The passage of the hurricane destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of houses, leaving around 300,000 people homeless and causing $447.8 million in damage (1997 USD).