Hurricane Pauline (1997)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Eastern Pacific · October 5–10, 1997

Peak wind

132 mph

213 km/h · Oct 7

Peak category

Cat 4

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

948 mb

Landfalls

Oaxaca, Mexico

Lifetime

4.8 d

Oct 5 – Oct 10

Distance

946 mi

1,522 km

ACE

11.3

storm energy

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

What happened with Pauline

Hurricane Pauline (1997) was a Category 4 hurricane of the 1997 Eastern Pacific season. It formed on October 5, 1997, 255 mi S of Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico, reached its peak of 132 mph (213 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 948 mb on October 7, 1997, and made landfall 11 mi W of Río Grande, Oaxaca, Mexico on October 9, 1997 as a Category 2 hurricane (109 mph). It rapidly intensified by 80 mph in 24 hours (to 132 mph on October 7, 1997). The storm lasted 4.8 days and travelled about 946 miles (1,522 km).

02 · Intensity

Wind and pressure, hour by hour

Maximum sustained wind (mph) — hover or drag to scrub the map

03 · Impact

Landfall and cities in the path

Landfall (UTC)	Where	Strength	Pressure
October 9, 1997 · 00:00 UTC	11 mi W of Río Grande, Oaxaca, Mexico	Cat 2 109 mph	960 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Acapulco de Juárez, Guerrero, Mexico	17 mi	Oct 9 · 09:00 UTC	Cat 1 75 mph

Distance from the city to the storm’s center, interpolated hourly between official fixes. Damaging winds, surge and rain reach far beyond the center.

04 · Timeline

Every official fix 20 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Oct 5 12:00	TD	29 mph	1009 mb	12.2°N 96.6°W	open ocean
Oct 5 18:00	TD	29 mph	1009 mb	12.1°N 96.0°W	open ocean
Oct 6 00:00	TD	35 mph	1008 mb	12.0°N 95.5°W	open ocean
Oct 6 06:00	TS	40 mph	1005 mb	11.9°N 95.0°W	open ocean
Oct 6 12:00	TS	52 mph	1000 mb	11.9°N 94.5°W	open ocean
Oct 6 18:00	TS	63 mph	990 mb	12.2°N 94.2°W	open ocean
Oct 7 00:00	Cat 1	81 mph	977 mb	12.5°N 94.1°W	open ocean
Oct 7 06:00	Cat 3	115 mph	955 mb	12.9°N 94.2°W	174 mi SW of Brisas Barra de Suchiate, Chiapas, Mexico
Oct 7 12:00	Cat 4	132 mph	948 mb	13.2°N 94.5°W	178 mi WSW of Brisas Barra de Suchiate, Chiapas, Mexico
Oct 7 18:00	Cat 3	127 mph	949 mb	13.5°N 94.9°W	177 mi SSE of Crucecita, Oaxaca, Mexico
Oct 8 00:00	Cat 3	115 mph	955 mb	13.8°N 95.3°W	147 mi SSE of Crucecita, Oaxaca, Mexico
Oct 8 06:00	Cat 3	115 mph	959 mb	14.2°N 95.6°W	114 mi SSE of Crucecita, Oaxaca, Mexico
Oct 8 12:00	Cat 3	127 mph	954 mb	14.6°N 95.9°W	82 mi S of Crucecita, Oaxaca, Mexico
Oct 8 18:00	Cat 4	132 mph	948 mb	15.3°N 96.3°W	33 mi SSE of San Pedro Pochutla, Oaxaca, Mexico
Oct 9 00:00	Cat 2 LANDFALL	109 mph	960 mb	16.0°N 97.6°W	11 mi W of Río Grande, Oaxaca, Mexico
Oct 9 06:00	Cat 1	81 mph	973 mb	16.7°N 99.0°W	near Cruz Grande, Guerrero, Mexico
Oct 9 12:00	TS	69 mph	989 mb	17.3°N 100.4°W	near Atoyac de Álvarez, Guerrero, Mexico
Oct 9 18:00	TS	58 mph	1000 mb	17.9°N 101.4°W	20 mi NNE of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico
Oct 10 00:00	TS	46 mph	1005 mb	18.6°N 102.0°W	25 mi NE of Arteaga, Michoacán, Mexico
Oct 10 06:00	TD	35 mph	1009 mb	19.2°N 102.6°W	near Buenavista Tomatlán, Michoacán, Mexico

⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Pauline make landfall?

Pauline made landfall once: 11 mi W of Río Grande, Oaxaca, Mexico on October 9, 1997 at 00:00 UTC, as a Category 2 hurricane with 109 mph winds.

What category was Pauline?

At its peak on October 7, 1997, Pauline was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 132 mph (213 km/h) and a central pressure of 948 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 2 hurricane.

How long did Pauline last?

4.8 days, from October 5, 1997 to October 10, 1997, including 60 hours at hurricane strength (42 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 946 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Pauline?

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.

Related storms

Keep exploring

Every storm named Pauline

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1961	Tropical Storm Pauline Eastern Pacific	TS 52 mph	—
1968	Hurricane Pauline Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1985	Hurricane Pauline Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1997	Hurricane Pauline · this page Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 132 mph	Oaxaca, Mexico

Names are recycled every six years unless a storm is so deadly or costly that the name is retired.

Strongest storms of 1997

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1997	Hurricane Linda Eastern Pacific	Cat 5 184 mph	—	→
1997	Hurricane Paka Central Pacific	Cat 5 184 mph	—	→
1997	Hurricane Guillermo Eastern Pacific	Cat 5 161 mph	—	→
1997	Hurricane Oliwa Central Pacific	Cat 5 161 mph	—	→
1997	Hurricane Jimena Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 138 mph	—	→
1997	Hurricane Felicia Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 132 mph	—	→
1997	Hurricane Nora Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 132 mph	Baja California Sur, Mexico	→
1997	Hurricane Erika Atlantic	Cat 3 127 mph	—	→

See every 1997 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Pauline on Wikipedia.

← Previous Eastern Pacific stormTropical Storm Olaf (1997)Next Eastern Pacific storm →Hurricane Rick (1997)

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