Hurricane Paka (international designation: "9728", JTWC designation: "05C", PAGASA designation: Rubing, also known as " Typhoon Paka") was the last tropical cyclone in the 1997 Pacific hurricane and typhoon season, and was among the strongest Pacific typhoons in the month of December. Paka, which is the Hawaiian name for Pat, developed on November 28 from a trough well to the southwest of Hawaii. The storm tracked generally westward for much of its duration, and on December 7 it crossed into the western Pacific Ocean. Much of its track was characterized by fluctuations in intensity, and on December 10 the cyclone attained typhoon status as it crossed the Marshall Islands. On December 16, Paka struck Guam and Rota with winds of 230 km/h (145 mph), and it strengthened further to reach peak winds on December 18 over open waters. Subsequently, it underwent a steady weakening trend, and on December 23 Paka dissipated.
Typhoon Paka first impacted the Marshall Islands, where it dropped heavy rainfall and left $80 million in damage (1997 USD, $100 million 2007 USD). Later, it passed just north of Guam, where strong winds destroyed about 1,500 buildings and damaged 10,000 more; 5,000 people were left homeless, and the island experienced a complete power outage following the typhoon. Damage on the island totaled $500 million (1997 USD, $645 million 2007 USD), which warranted the retirement of its name. Paka also caused light damage in the Northern Marianas Islands, and overall the storm caused no reported deaths.
Hurricane Pauline
Hurricane Pauline was a destructive hurricane of the 1997 Pacific hurricane season and one of the deadliest.
Pauline formed in the eastern Pacific on October 6. It strengthened rapidly, reaching category four on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale on the next day. After a brief period of weakening to a category three, it re-intensified back to a category four, moving roughly parallel to the Mexican coast.Pauline then made landfall, slamming into Mexico. Heavy rains and high winds caused damage as the storm skirted the coast.
There were 300-400 deaths, and heavy damage to Acalpulco. The name was retired and replaced by Patricia for the 2003 Pacific hurricane season.
Hurricane Linda (1997)
Hurricane Linda of 1997 was the strongest hurricane ever Recorded in the east Pacific, until Hurricane Patricia in 2015 with continued winds of 160 knots and gusting to 190 knots, and a central pressure of 902 mbar. It was part of an abnormally active season for both the Eastern and Western Pacific Basins.
Since it was far from land, it did not cause much damage.
A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on August 24th. It moved across the unfavorable Atlantic without development. As it crossed Central America convection increased, and a poorly-defined center developed early on September 9th. Banding and convection increased, and it became a tropical depression that night, 400 nautical miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico.
Tropical Depression 14-E continued northwestward, and became a tropical storm on the 10th. Linda started to intensify more quickly, becoming a hurricane on the 11th 475 nautical miles south-southeast of the southern tip of Baja California. After 30 hours of rapidly intensifying, Linda reached her peak of 160 knots on the 12th, or around 185 M.P.H. winds. That is an increase of 95 knots, and a drop of 85 millibars. Linda moved directly over Socorro Island on the 12th as a Category 5 hurricane, but cooler waters weakened it greatly, dissipating it on the 17th.
Linda went over Soccoro Island, doing $3.2 million in damage.
In California, Linda was responsible for 8 deaths and $68 million in damage. Five people drowned in a jetty. Floods caused 3 deaths and mudslides destroyed millions of homes and caused $68 million in damage. The Southwest would get devastated again by Hurricane Nora weeks later.
Hurricane Ioke
Hurricane Ioke (also Typhoon Ioke, international designation 0612, JTWC designation 01C also sometimes called Super Typhoon Ioke) is the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Central Pacific. The first storm to form in the Central Pacific in the 2006 Pacific hurricane season, Ioke is a long-lived and extremely powerful storm that traversed the Pacific, reaching Category 5 status twice as a hurricane. As a typhoon, Ioke managed to achieve Category 5-equivalent one-minute sustained winds one more time before weakening.
Ioke did not affect any permanently populated areas in the Central Pacific or Western Pacific basins as a hurricane or a typhoon, but the storm passed over Johnston Atoll as a Category 2 hurricane and Wake Island as a Category 5 typhoon. Despite its strength, Ioke only caused moderate damage to Wake Island, and was not responsible for any fatalities.
The system began in the third week of August as a persistent tropical disturbance south of the Hawaiian Islands. It was initially embedded in a trough, but gained convection and developed into a tropical depression about 775 miles south of Honolulu on August 19. It continued to strengthen, and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center designated the system with the name "Ioke" (IPA /iːˈəʊ.keɪ/), which is Hawaiian for the name Joyce, becoming the first tropical storm to form in the Central Pacific since 2002.
Ioke quickly began to enter a process of rapid development; strengthening into a hurricane just 24 hours after it had formed. While safely avoiding the Hawaiian Islands, it continued to rapidly intensify and became a major hurricane (Category 3 or greater) on the morning of August 21. Later that day, Ioke intensified even further into a Category 4 hurricane. On August 22, it began to weaken as a result of cooler water and eyewall replacement cycle, and was downgraded back to a Category 2. As a Category 2 storm, Ioke affected Johnston Atoll.
The storm began to rapidly deepen again late on August 23 as it moved over increasingly warm water, reaching major hurricane status for the second time while moving to the west-northwest. From there, conditions would become even more favorable for development.
Overnight between August 24 and August 25, Ioke strengthened rapidly, becoming a Category 5 hurricane on the 25th - the first system originating from the Central Pacific to reach that intensity while still in the Western Hemisphere. Ioke then began to travel over a large environment highly favorable for hurricane development, and would maintain its strength for an extended period of time. Ioke also became the most intense hurricane ever to develop in the Central Pacific, with a central pressure of 921 mbar (27.19 inHg) at that point (which dropped to 920 mbar at its Central Pacific peak).
Ioke began to fluctuate in intensity afterward; weakened back to a Category 4 while undergoing an eyewall replacement cycle, regaining Category 5 strength on August 26. Ioke held that intensity until crossing the International Date Line that evening (August 27 after the crossover), becoming Typhoon Ioke in the process. The storm weakened to Category 4 strength according to the JTWC, but by 2100 UTC on August 29, the JTWC advised that Ioke had regained Category 5 strength for the third time.