The 1997 Pacific hurricane season was a very active hurricane season. With hundreds of deaths and billions of dollars in damage, this season was the costliest and one of the deadliest Pacific hurricane seasons. This was due to a strong El Niño. The 1997 Pacific hurricane season officially started on May 15, 1997 in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1, 1997 in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 1997. 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, and its extratropical remnants caused minor damage in the Pacific Northwest and California. Linda became the most intense east Pacific hurricane in recorded history. 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 landfall 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 10 hurricanes, compared to the average of 8. There were also 7 major hurricanes compared to the average of 4.
Read more about 1997 Pacific Hurricane Season: Season Summary, Season Effects, Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE), Storm Names
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