The 1997 Pacific hurricane season was the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation over the Pacific Ocean north of the equator and east of the International Date Line (IDL). The season officially began on May 15 in the Eastern Pacific basin proper (east of 140°W) and June 1 in the Central Pacific basin (140°W to the IDL), and ended on November 30 in both areas. This is historically the period during which most tropical cyclogenesis occurs in these respective areas. The season's first system, Tropical Storm Andres, developed on June 1; its last, Tropical Storm Paka, crossed the IDL on December 6.

The 1997 season produced a slightly above-average number of named storms (19) and a near-average number of hurricanes (nine). The number of major hurricanes—Category 3 or higher on the five-level Saffir–Simpson scale—was well above average, with seven. Two of them—Guillermo and Linda—reached Category 5 intensity, with Linda becoming the strongest Pacific hurricane on record at the time. There also were five tropical depressions that did not reach tropical storm strength. The Central Pacific basin was unusually busy, as nine tropical cyclones either formed or existed in the region. At the time, this was the fourth-most in one year since satellites launched in 1961. Five tropical cyclones made landfall this season, beginning with the June landfall of Andres in El Salvador as a tropical depression. Then, from September to November, four consecutive named storms struck Mexico: Olaf as a tropical depression, Nora and Rick at Category 1 strength, and Pauline as a high-end Category 2 hurricane. Pauline was particularly impactful, causing floods and mudslides that killed over 200 people and inflicted catastrophic damage.

This timeline documents tropical cyclone formations, strengthening, weakening, landfalls, extratropical transitions, and dissipations during the season. It includes information that was not released during the season, meaning that data from post-storm reviews by the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center has been included.

The time stamp for each event is first stated using Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the 24-hour clock where 00:00 = midnight UTC. The NHC uses both UTC and the time zone where the center of the tropical cyclone was then located. Prior to 2015, two time zones were utilized in the Eastern Pacific basin: Pacific for the Eastern Pacific, and Hawaii−Aleutian for the Central Pacific. In this timeline, the respective area time is included in parentheses. Additionally, figures for maximum sustained winds and position estimates are rounded to the nearest 5 units (miles, or kilometers), following NHC practice. Direct wind observations are rounded to the nearest whole number. Atmospheric pressures are listed to the nearest millibar and nearest hundredth of an inch of mercury.

__toc__

Timeline of events

May May 15 The 1997 Eastern Pacific hurricane season officially begins.

June June 1 The 1997 Central Pacific hurricane season officially begins. 00:00 UTC (5:00 p.m. PDT, May 31) at Tropical Depression forms from an area of unsettled weather about 345 mi (555 km) south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec.

June 2

12:00 UTC (5:00 a.m. PDT) at Tropical Depression strengthens into Tropical Storm Andres about 330 mi (530 km) south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec.

June 4 18:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. PDT) at Tropical Storm Andres attains its peak intensity, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of , about 130 mi (215 km) southeast of the Gulf of Tehuantepec.

June 6 06:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. PDT, June 5) at Tropical Storm Andres weakens into a tropical depression about 120 mi (195 km) south-southwest of San Salvador.

June 7 01:00 UTC (6:00 p.m. PDT, June 6) at Tropical Depression Andres makes landfall about 45 mi (75 km) southeast of San Salvador with sustained winds of 30 mph (45 km/h) and a central pressure of . 06:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. PDT, June 6) at Tropical Depression Andres dissipates inland about 35 mi (55 km) east of San Salvador, over the mountainous terrain of Central America.

June 9 18:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. PDT) at Tropical Depression forms from an area of unsettled weather over the Gulf of Tehuantepec.

June 10 00:00 UTC (5:00 p.m. PDT, June 9) at Tropical Depression strengthens into Tropical Storm Blanca about 90 mi (150 km) southeast of Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca.

June 11

00:00 UTC (5:00 p.m. PDT, June 10) at Tropical Storm Blanca attains its peak intensity, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of , about 165 mi (270 km) southwest of Acapulco, Guerrero.

June 12 00:00 UTC (5:00 p.m. PDT, June 11) at Tropical Storm Blanca weakens into a tropical depression about 490 mi (790 km) west of Acapulco. 06:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. PDT, June 11) at Tropical Depression Blanca is last noted as a tropical cyclone about 580 mi (935 km) west of Acapulco, dissipating shortly thereafter.

June 21 18:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. PDT) at Tropical Depression forms over the central portion of the Eastern Pacific basin. It simultaneously attains its peak intensity, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of .

June 24 00:00 UTC (5:00 p.m. PDT, June 23) at Tropical Depression is last noted as a tropical cyclone about west of where it formed, dissipating shortly thereafter.

June 25

06:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. PDT, June 24) at A tropical depression forms from an area of unsettled weather about south-southeast of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. 18:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. PDT) at The recently formed tropical depression strengthens into Tropical Storm Carlos about 410 mi (660 km) south of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

June 26 06:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. PDT, June 25) at Tropical Storm Carlos attains its peak intensity, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of , about 335 mi (535 km) south-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

June 27 06:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. PDT, June 26) at Tropical Storm Carlos weakens into a tropical depression about 420 mi (675 km) southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

June 28 00:00 UTC (5:00 p.m. PDT, June 27) at Tropical Depression Carlos is last noted as a tropical cyclone about 570 mi (915 km) west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, dissipating shortly thereafter.

June 29 12:00 UTC (5:00 a.m. PDT) at Tropical Depression forms well off the coast of Mexico.

July July 2

06:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. PDT, July 1) at Tropical Depression attains its peak intensity, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of , about west of where it formed.

July 4 00:00 UTC (5:00 p.m. PDT, July 3) at Tropical Depression is last noted as a tropical cyclone about west of where it formed, dissipating shortly thereafter.

July 5 12:00 UTC (5:00 a.m. PDT) at A tropical depression forms from an area of unsettled weather about south of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

July 6 00:00 UTC (5:00 p.m. PDT, July 5) at The recently formed tropical depression strengthens into Tropical Storm Dolores about south of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

July 7 12:00 UTC (5:00 a.m. PDT) at Tropical Storm Dolores strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane about southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

July 9

06:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. PDT, July 8) at Hurricane Dolores attains its peak intensity, with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of , about west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

July 10 06:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. PDT, July 9) at Hurricane Dolores weakens into a tropical storm about west of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

July 11 06:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. PDT, July 10) at Tropical Storm Dolores weakens into a tropical depression about west of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. 18:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. HST) at Tropical Depression Dolores crosses 140°W, leaving the National Hurricane Center's (NHC) area of responsibility and entering the region monitored by the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC).

July 12 06:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. PDT, July 11) at A tropical depression forms from a tropical wave about south of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. 18:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. HST) at Tropical Depression Dolores dissipates about west of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. 18:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. PDT) at The recently formed tropical depression strengthens into Tropical Storm Enrique about south-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

July 13 12:00 UTC (5:00 a.m. PDT) at Tropical Storm Enrique strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane about southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

July 14

00:00 UTC (5:00 p.m. PDT, July 13) at Hurricane Enrique strengthens to Category 2 intensity about southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. 12:00 UTC (5:00 a.m. PDT) at Tropical Depression forms from an area of unsettled weather about south-southwest of Manzanillo, Colima. 18:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. PDT) at Hurricane Enrique strengthens to Category 3 intensity about west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, making it the first major hurricane of the season. It simultaneously attains its peak intensity, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of .

July 15 00:00 UTC (5:00 p.m. PDT, July 14) at Hurricane Enrique weakens to Category 2 intensity about west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. 06:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. PDT, July 14) at Hurricane Enrique weakens to Category 1 intensity about west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. 18:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. PDT) at Hurricane Enrique weakens into a tropical storm about west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. 18:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. PDT) at Tropical Depression strengthens into Tropical Storm Felicia about southwest of Manzanillo.

July 16

12:00 UTC (5:00 a.m. PDT) at Tropical Storm Enrique weakens into a tropical depression about west of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. 18:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. PDT) at Tropical Depression Enrique dissipates about west of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

July 17 06:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. PDT, July 16) at Tropical Storm Felicia strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane about west-southwest of Manzanillo.

July 18 12:00 UTC (5:00 a.m. PDT) at Hurricane Felicia strengthens to Category 2 intensity about west-southwest of Manzanillo. 18:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. PDT) at Hurricane Felicia strengthens to Category 3 intensity about west of Manzanillo, making it the second major hurricane of the season.

July 19

06:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. PDT, July 18) at Hurricane Felicia strengthens to Category 4 intensity about west of Manzanillo. 12:00 UTC (5:00 a.m. PDT) at Hurricane Felicia attains its peak intensity, with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of , about west of Manzanillo.

July 20 00:00 UTC (5:00 p.m. PDT, July 19) at Hurricane Felicia weakens to Category 3 intensity about west of Manzanillo. 18:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. PDT) at Hurricane Felicia weakens to Category 2 intensity about west of Manzanillo.

July 21 06:00 UTC (11:00 p.m. PDT, July 20) at Hurricane Felicia weakens to Category 1 intensity about west of Manzanillo. 12:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. HST) at Hurricane Felicia weakens into a tropical storm as it crosses 140°W, leaving the NHC's jurisdiction and entering the CPHC's area of responsibility.

July 22 06:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. HST, July 21) at Tropical Storm Felicia weakens into a tropical depression about east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii.