Track map & timeline · Central Pacific · November 28 – December 22, 1997
TD TS Cat 1 2 3 4 5 · dashed = post-tropical / remnant low. Click any point or table row to jump there.
01 · The story
Hurricane Paka (1997) was a Category 5 hurricane of the 1997 Central Pacific season. It formed on November 28, 1997, reached its peak of 184 mph (296 km/h) on December 18, 1997, and never made landfall. It rapidly intensified by 46 mph in 24 hours (to 104 mph on December 11, 1997). The storm lasted 23.8 days and travelled about 4,669 miles (7,512 km).
02 · Intensity
03 · Timeline
| Date · UTC | Status | Wind | Pressure | Position | Nearest place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 28 18:00 | TD | 23 mph | — | 5.6°N 166.3°W | open ocean |
| Nov 29 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 5.9°N 166.1°W | open ocean |
| Nov 29 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 6.1°N 166.0°W | open ocean |
| Nov 29 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 6.4°N 165.8°W | open ocean |
| Nov 29 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 6.7°N 165.5°W | open ocean |
| Nov 30 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 7.1°N 165.3°W | open ocean |
| Nov 30 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 7.4°N 165.2°W | open ocean |
| Nov 30 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 7.7°N 165.2°W | open ocean |
| Nov 30 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 7.8°N 165.3°W | open ocean |
| Dec 1 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 7.9°N 165.4°W | open ocean |
| Dec 1 06:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 8.0°N 165.6°W | open ocean |
| Dec 1 12:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 8.0°N 165.9°W | open ocean |
| Dec 1 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 8.0°N 166.3°W | open ocean |
| Dec 2 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 8.0°N 166.7°W | open ocean |
| Dec 2 06:00 | TS | 40 mph | — | 8.0°N 167.1°W | open ocean |
| Dec 2 12:00 | TS | 46 mph | — | 8.0°N 167.2°W | open ocean |
| Dec 2 18:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 8.1°N 167.3°W | open ocean |
| Dec 3 00:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 8.1°N 167.4°W | open ocean |
| Dec 3 06:00 | TS | 58 mph | — | 8.1°N 167.5°W | open ocean |
| Dec 3 12:00 | TS | 63 mph | — | 8.1°N 167.6°W | open ocean |
| Dec 3 18:00 | TS | 63 mph | — | 8.2°N 167.8°W | open ocean |
| Dec 4 00:00 | TS | 63 mph | — | 8.3°N 168.2°W | open ocean |
| Dec 4 06:00 | TS | 63 mph | — | 8.4°N 168.7°W | open ocean |
| Dec 4 12:00 | TS | 58 mph | — | 8.4°N 169.3°W | open ocean |
| Dec 4 18:00 | TS | 58 mph | — | 8.4°N 170.1°W | open ocean |
| Dec 5 00:00 | TS | 58 mph | — | 8.3°N 171.3°W | open ocean |
| Dec 5 06:00 | TS | 58 mph | — | 8.2°N 172.3°W | open ocean |
| Dec 5 12:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 8.1°N 173.5°W | open ocean |
| Dec 5 18:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 7.9°N 175.0°W | open ocean |
| Dec 6 00:00 | TS | 46 mph | — | 7.7°N 176.7°W | open ocean |
| Dec 6 06:00 | TS | 40 mph | — | 7.6°N 177.7°W | open ocean |
| Dec 6 12:00 | TS | 40 mph | — | 7.5°N 178.4°W | open ocean |
| Dec 6 18:00 | TS | 46 mph | — | 7.4°N 179.1°W | open ocean |
| Dec 7 00:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 7.4°N 179.7°W | open ocean |
| Dec 7 06:00 | TS | 58 mph | — | 7.4°N 179.9°E | open ocean |
| Dec 7 12:00 | TS | 63 mph | — | 7.4°N 179.4°E | open ocean |
| Dec 7 18:00 | TS | 69 mph | — | 7.4°N 178.8°E | open ocean |
| Dec 8 00:00 | TS | 69 mph | — | 7.3°N 178.1°E | open ocean |
| Dec 8 06:00 | TS | 63 mph | — | 7.1°N 177.2°E | open ocean |
| Dec 8 12:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 6.9°N 176.5°E | open ocean |
| Dec 8 18:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 6.7°N 175.5°E | open ocean |
| Dec 9 00:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 6.6°N 174.6°E | open ocean |
| Dec 9 06:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 6.6°N 174.1°E | open ocean |
| Dec 9 12:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 6.7°N 173.5°E | open ocean |
| Dec 9 18:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 6.8°N 172.7°E | open ocean |
| Dec 10 00:00 | TS | 58 mph | — | 6.8°N 171.9°E | open ocean |
| Dec 10 06:00 | TS | 69 mph | — | 6.8°N 171.2°E | open ocean |
| Dec 10 12:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | — | 6.7°N 170.5°E | open ocean |
| Dec 10 18:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | — | 6.7°N 169.8°E | open ocean |
| Dec 11 00:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | — | 6.7°N 169.1°E | open ocean |
| Dec 11 06:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | — | 6.8°N 168.5°E | open ocean |
| Dec 11 12:00 | Cat 3 | 121 mph | — | 7.1°N 167.7°E | open ocean |
| Dec 11 18:00 | Cat 3 | 127 mph | — | 7.3°N 167.3°E | open ocean |
| Dec 12 00:00 | Cat 4 | 132 mph | — | 7.6°N 166.5°E | open ocean |
| Dec 12 06:00 | Cat 4 | 132 mph | — | 7.8°N 165.8°E | open ocean |
| Dec 12 12:00 | Cat 3 | 127 mph | — | 8.0°N 165.1°E | open ocean |
| Dec 12 18:00 | Cat 3 | 121 mph | — | 8.3°N 164.1°E | open ocean |
| Dec 13 00:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | — | 8.7°N 163.0°E | open ocean |
| Dec 13 06:00 | Cat 2 | 109 mph | — | 9.1°N 161.8°E | open ocean |
| Dec 13 12:00 | Cat 3 | 121 mph | — | 9.6°N 160.5°E | open ocean |
| Dec 13 18:00 | Cat 4 | 132 mph | — | 10.0°N 159.0°E | open ocean |
| Dec 14 00:00 | Cat 4 | 138 mph | — | 10.4°N 157.4°E | open ocean |
| Dec 14 06:00 | Cat 4 | 144 mph | — | 10.9°N 155.7°E | open ocean |
| Dec 14 12:00 | Cat 4 | 150 mph | — | 11.4°N 154.0°E | open ocean |
| Dec 14 18:00 | Cat 4 | 155 mph | — | 12.0°N 152.5°E | open ocean |
| Dec 15 00:00 | Cat 5 | 161 mph | — | 12.4°N 150.8°E | open ocean |
| Dec 15 06:00 | Cat 5 | 161 mph | — | 12.7°N 149.5°E | open ocean |
| Dec 15 12:00 | Cat 5 | 161 mph | — | 13.0°N 148.3°E | open ocean |
| Dec 15 18:00 | Cat 4 | 155 mph | — | 13.3°N 147.1°E | open ocean |
| Dec 16 00:00 | Cat 4 | 150 mph | — | 13.5°N 146.2°E | open ocean |
| Dec 16 06:00 | Cat 4 | 144 mph | — | 13.7°N 145.3°E | open ocean |
| Dec 16 12:00 | Cat 4 | 150 mph | — | 13.7°N 144.7°E | open ocean |
| Dec 16 18:00 | Cat 4 | 155 mph | — | 13.7°N 143.9°E | open ocean |
| Dec 17 00:00 | Cat 5 | 161 mph | — | 13.7°N 143.0°E | open ocean |
| Dec 17 06:00 | Cat 5 | 167 mph | — | 13.7°N 142.1°E | open ocean |
| Dec 17 12:00 | Cat 5 | 173 mph | — | 13.8°N 141.4°E | open ocean |
| Dec 17 18:00 | Cat 5 | 178 mph | — | 14.0°N 140.6°E | open ocean |
| Dec 18 00:00 | Cat 5 | 184 mph | — | 14.3°N 139.7°E | open ocean |
| Dec 18 06:00 | Cat 5 | 167 mph | — | 14.6°N 139.0°E | open ocean |
| Dec 18 12:00 | Cat 5 | 161 mph | — | 14.9°N 138.2°E | open ocean |
| Dec 18 18:00 | Cat 4 | 155 mph | — | 15.0°N 137.3°E | open ocean |
| Dec 19 00:00 | Cat 4 | 150 mph | — | 15.3°N 136.3°E | open ocean |
| Dec 19 06:00 | Cat 4 | 144 mph | — | 15.7°N 135.6°E | open ocean |
| Dec 19 12:00 | Cat 4 | 138 mph | — | 16.1°N 135.0°E | open ocean |
| Dec 19 18:00 | Cat 4 | 132 mph | — | 16.5°N 134.3°E | open ocean |
| Dec 20 00:00 | Cat 3 | 127 mph | — | 16.8°N 133.8°E | open ocean |
| Dec 20 06:00 | Cat 2 | 109 mph | — | 17.1°N 133.4°E | open ocean |
| Dec 20 12:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | — | 17.3°N 133.2°E | open ocean |
| Dec 20 18:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | — | 17.4°N 133.1°E | open ocean |
| Dec 21 00:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 17.5°N 132.9°E | open ocean |
| Dec 21 06:00 | TS | 46 mph | — | 17.5°N 132.6°E | open ocean |
| Dec 21 12:00 | TS | 46 mph | — | 17.5°N 132.3°E | open ocean |
| Dec 21 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 17.6°N 132.0°E | open ocean |
| Dec 22 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 17.7°N 131.8°E | open ocean |
| Dec 22 06:00 | TD | 23 mph | — | 17.9°N 131.6°E | open ocean |
| Dec 22 12:00 | TD | 23 mph | — | 18.4°N 131.4°E | open ocean |
⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track
Questions
No — the NOAA best-track record shows no landfall for Paka.
At its peak on December 18, 1997, Paka was a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 184 mph (296 km/h).
23.8 days, from November 28, 1997 to December 22, 1997, including 252 hours at hurricane strength (210 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 4,669 miles.
The 6-hourly positions, winds, pressure and wind radii are available as CSV on this page (track.csv) — they come from the NOAA National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database and are in the public domain.
This site was built by Digital Dynamics Kft.
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