1997 Eastern Pacific hurricane season
Hurricane Linda 1997
Hurricane Linda set eastern Pacific intensity records in September 1997, strengthening far faster than forecasters expected. It stayed offshore after forecasts raised the possibility of a turn toward Southern California.
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184 mph
Sep 12, 1997 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
A record near Socorro Island
Linda formed south of Manzanillo on September 9 and became a hurricane within about 36 hours. Its estimated central pressure fell 81 hPa in one day. On September 12, it reached peak one-minute winds of 160 kt and a central pressure of 902 hPa near Socorro Island.
Those wind and pressure estimates set eastern Pacific records that stood until Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Linda damaged weather instruments on Socorro Island while passing nearby at Category 5 strength. Its rapid growth also exposed the limits of the intensity forecasts available at the time.
Turning away from California
Some forecast models projected a turn toward Southern California, but a building ridge sent Linda west-northwest away from land. Cooler water weakened the hurricane, and it lost its tropical structure in mid-September.
Large waves forced officials to close five ports along southwestern Mexico. Moisture from Linda reached Southern California, where flooding and mudslides in the San Gorgonio area destroyed two houses and damaged 77 others. Damage totaled US$3.2 million in 1997 currency, with no recorded deaths.
Further reading
NOAA IBTrACS v04r01 historical track archive
Wikipedia, Hurricane Linda (1997)
Official report (PDF) — National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report.
QUICK ANSWERS
Linda in brief
What was Hurricane Linda's highest wind speed?
184 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Sep 12, 1997, 06:00 AM UTC.
What category was Hurricane Linda?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Sep 11, 1997, 09:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Hurricane Linda's lowest pressure?
902 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Sep 12, 1997, 06:00 AM UTC.
When did Hurricane Linda occur?
The archived track runs from Sep 9, 1997, 12:00 PM UTC to Sep 17, 1997, 06:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Sep 9, 1997, 12:00 PM UTC to Sep 17, 1997, 06:00 PM UTC.
Where did Hurricane Linda form?
In the Eastern Pacific basin, in the 1997 season. Its first archived position is 12.4°N, 104.7°W on Sep 9, 1997, 12:00 PM UTC.
Did Hurricane Linda make landfall?
No archived position places Hurricane Linda's center over land, but positions are six-hourly and a brief landfall can fall between them.
METHODOLOGY
Data sources and limitations
The map and summary are generated from NOAA's IBTrACS v04r01 archive. Wind and category use US-agency records; minimum pressure is calculated during the tropical stage, with the archive's pressure source retained. Category 5 refers to the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale; local agencies may use different classifications. Coastlines use Natural Earth's 1:10m land data.
Track distance adds great-circle distances between consecutive observations, excluding gaps over 12 hours. This track has no gaps over 12 hours. The line shows the storm's center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Converted wind speeds are rounded to the nearest whole unit.
Archive retrieved
NOAA IBTrACS archive and Field documentation
Sources & methodology