Hurricane Linda (1997)

Basin

Eastern Pacific

Dates

September 9, 1997 to September 17, 1997

Peak strength

Category 5, 160 kt (184 mph)

Lowest pressure

902 mb (26.64 inHg)

Landfall

No; closest approach 463 km (288 mi)

Accumulated cyclone energy

28.6

Fastest the center moved

12 kt (14 mph)

Identifier

EP141997

The sources count different things and are not added together.

NOAA’s Storm Events database, the record National Weather Service offices compile months after a storm, as compiled March 2026.

Deaths

0 (0 direct, 0 indirect)

Injuries

4

Property damage

none recorded

Crop damage

none recorded

Events recorded

4 in 2 reports from 1 states and marine areas

State by state

What was recorded

4 high surf.

From the Storm Events narratives, unedited.

Heavy Surf stirred up by Hurricane Linda, sent waves up to 18 feet high thundering into The Wedge at Newport Beach. Five people were swept off a jetty, and 300 yards out to sea, before being rescued by a passing boater. Four were injured, one critically, after nearly drowning.

Orange, California · High Surf · Sep 15, 02:00 UTC

• Tropical Storm AndresEastern Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm45 kt · 998 mb
• Tropical Storm BlancaEastern Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm40 kt · 1002 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1997Tropical Depression30 kt
• Tropical Storm CarlosEastern Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm45 kt · 996 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1997Tropical Depression30 kt
• Hurricane DoloresEastern Pacific · 1997Cat 180 kt · 975 mb
• Hurricane EnriqueEastern Pacific · 1997Cat 3100 kt · 960 mb
• Hurricane FeliciaEastern Pacific · 1997Cat 4115 kt · 948 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1997Tropical Depression25 kt
• Hurricane GuillermoEastern Pacific · 1997Cat 5140 kt · 919 mb
• Tropical Storm HildaEastern Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm45 kt · 1000 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1997Tropical Depression30 kt
• Tropical Storm IgnacioEastern Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm35 kt · 1005 mb
• Hurricane JimenaEastern Pacific · 1997Cat 4120 kt · 942 mb
• Hurricane OliwaEastern Pacific · 1997Cat 5140 kt · 915 mb
• Tropical Storm KevinEastern Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm50 kt · 994 mb
• Tropical Storm MartyEastern Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm40 kt · 1002 mb
• Hurricane NoraEastern Pacific · 1997Cat 4115 kt · 950 mb
• Tropical Storm EllaEastern Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm40 kt
• Tropical Storm OlafEastern Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm60 kt · 989 mb
• Hurricane PaulineEastern Pacific · 1997Cat 4115 kt · 948 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1997Tropical Depression25 kt
• Unnamed tropical stormEastern Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm35 kt
• Hurricane RickEastern Pacific · 1997Cat 285 kt · 973 mb
• Hurricane PakaEastern Pacific · 1997Cat 5160 kt · 920 mb

A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.

• Tropical cyclone report, National Hurricane Center
• Wikipedia article: Hurricane Linda