The 1997 season

Hurricane Paka (1997)

Hurricane Paka reached Category 5 in the Eastern Pacific between November 28, 1997 and December 23, 1997, with a lowest pressure of 920 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Hurricane Paka, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1997 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

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The storm

Basin
Eastern Pacific
Dates
November 28, 1997 to December 23, 1997
Peak strength
Category 5, 160 kt (184 mph)
Lowest pressure
920 mb (27.17 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 890 km (553 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
70.2
Fastest the center moved
17 kt (20 mph)
Identifier
CP051997

Radar at PGUA as it neared land, Dec 16, 12:00 UTC

Deaths and damage

The sources count different things and are not added together.

NOAA Storm Events

0 deaths (0 direct, 0 indirect)$584 million

What National Weather Service offices recorded county by county in 1 states and marine areas, in the United States only. Property and crop damage as each office estimated it, which is not a national loss total.

In the United States

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
2
Property damage
$584 million
Crop damage
none recorded
Events recorded
3 in 1 reports from 1 states and marine areas

State by state

State or marine areaDeathsInjuriesDamageEvents
Guam02$584 million3

What was recorded

3 hurricane (typhoon).

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Nov 28, 18:005.6N 166.3W20 ktTropical depression
Nov 29, 00:005.9N 166.1W25 ktTropical depression
Nov 29, 06:006.1N 166.0W25 ktTropical depression
Nov 29, 12:006.4N 165.8W25 ktTropical depression
Nov 29, 18:006.7N 165.5W25 ktTropical depression
Nov 30, 00:007.1N 165.3W25 ktTropical depression
Nov 30, 06:007.4N 165.2W25 ktTropical depression
Nov 30, 12:007.7N 165.2W25 ktTropical depression
Nov 30, 18:007.8N 165.3W25 ktTropical depression
Dec 1, 00:007.9N 165.4W25 ktTropical depression
Dec 1, 06:008.0N 165.6W30 ktTropical depression
Dec 1, 12:008.0N 165.9W30 ktTropical depression
Dec 1, 18:008.0N 166.3W30 ktTropical depression
Dec 2, 00:008.0N 166.7W30 ktTropical depression
Dec 2, 06:008.0N 167.1W35 ktTropical storm
Dec 2, 12:008.0N 167.2W40 ktTropical storm
Dec 2, 18:008.1N 167.3W45 ktTropical storm
Dec 3, 00:008.1N 167.4W45 ktTropical storm
Dec 3, 06:008.1N 167.5W50 ktTropical storm
Dec 3, 12:008.1N 167.6W55 ktTropical storm
Dec 3, 18:008.2N 167.8W55 ktTropical storm
Dec 4, 00:008.3N 168.2W55 ktTropical storm
Dec 4, 06:008.4N 168.7W55 ktTropical storm
Dec 4, 12:008.4N 169.3W50 ktTropical storm
Dec 4, 18:008.4N 170.1W50 ktTropical storm
Dec 5, 00:008.3N 171.3W50 ktTropical storm
Dec 5, 06:008.2N 172.3W50 ktTropical storm
Dec 5, 12:008.1N 173.5W45 ktTropical storm
Dec 5, 18:007.9N 175.0W45 ktTropical storm
Dec 6, 00:007.7N 176.7W40 ktTropical storm
Dec 6, 06:007.6N 177.7W35 ktTropical storm
Dec 6, 12:007.5N 178.4W35 ktTropical storm
Dec 6, 18:007.4N 179.1W40 ktTropical storm
Dec 7, 00:007.4N 179.7W45 ktTropical storm
Dec 7, 06:007.4N 179.9E50 ktTropical storm
Dec 7, 12:007.4N 179.4E55 ktTropical storm
Dec 7, 18:007.4N 178.8E60 kt994 mbTropical storm
Dec 8, 00:007.3N 178.1E60 kt994 mbTropical storm
Dec 8, 06:007.1N 177.2E55 kt994 mbTropical storm
Dec 8, 12:006.9N 176.5E45 kt992 mbTropical storm
Dec 8, 18:006.7N 175.5E45 kt992 mbTropical storm
Dec 9, 00:006.6N 174.6E45 kt990 mbTropical storm
Dec 9, 06:006.6N 174.1E45 kt990 mbTropical storm
Dec 9, 12:006.7N 173.5E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 9, 18:006.8N 172.7E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 10, 00:006.8N 171.9E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 10, 06:006.8N 171.2E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 10, 12:006.7N 170.5E70 kt980 mbHurricane
Dec 10, 18:006.7N 169.8E80 kt975 mbHurricane
Dec 11, 00:006.7N 169.1E90 kt970 mbHurricane
Dec 11, 06:006.8N 168.5E100 kt970 mbHurricane
Dec 11, 12:007.1N 167.7E105 kt965 mbHurricane
Dec 11, 18:007.3N 167.3E110 kt965 mbHurricane
Dec 12, 00:007.6N 166.5E115 kt960 mbHurricane
Dec 12, 06:007.8N 165.8E115 kt955 mbHurricane
Dec 12, 12:008.0N 165.1E110 kt950 mbHurricane
Dec 12, 18:008.3N 164.1E105 kt950 mbHurricane
Dec 13, 00:008.7N 163.0E100 kt950 mbHurricane
Dec 13, 06:009.1N 161.8E95 kt955 mbHurricane
Dec 13, 12:009.6N 160.5E105 kt955 mbHurricane
Dec 13, 18:0010.0N 159.0E115 kt955 mbHurricane
Dec 14, 00:0010.4N 157.4E120 kt950 mbHurricane
Dec 14, 06:0010.9N 155.7E125 kt950 mbHurricane
Dec 14, 12:0011.4N 154.0E130 kt940 mbHurricane
Dec 14, 18:0012.0N 152.5E135 kt930 mbHurricane
Dec 15, 00:0012.4N 150.8E140 kt930 mbHurricane
Dec 15, 06:0012.7N 149.5E140 kt930 mbHurricane
Dec 15, 12:0013.0N 148.3E140 kt925 mbHurricane
Dec 15, 18:0013.3N 147.1E135 kt925 mbHurricane
Dec 16, 00:0013.5N 146.2E130 kt930 mbHurricane
Dec 16, 06:0013.7N 145.3E125 kt935 mbHurricane
Dec 16, 12:0013.7N 144.7E130 kt940 mbHurricane
Dec 16, 18:0013.7N 143.9E135 kt940 mbHurricane
Dec 17, 00:0013.7N 143.0E140 kt940 mbHurricane
Dec 17, 06:0013.7N 142.1E145 kt935 mbHurricane
Dec 17, 12:0013.8N 141.4E150 kt925 mbHurricane
Dec 17, 18:0014.0N 140.6E155 kt920 mbHurricane
Dec 18, 00:0014.3N 139.7E160 kt920 mbHurricane
Dec 18, 06:0014.6N 139.0E145 kt920 mbHurricane
Dec 18, 12:0014.9N 138.2E140 kt920 mbHurricane
Dec 18, 18:0015.0N 137.3E135 kt920 mbHurricane
Dec 19, 00:0015.3N 136.3E130 kt925 mbHurricane
Dec 19, 06:0015.7N 135.6E125 kt930 mbHurricane
Dec 19, 12:0016.1N 135.0E120 kt930 mbHurricane
Dec 19, 18:0016.5N 134.3E115 kt935 mbHurricane
Dec 20, 00:0016.8N 133.8E110 kt940 mbHurricane
Dec 20, 06:0017.1N 133.4E95 kt945 mbHurricane
Dec 20, 12:0017.3N 133.2E85 kt950 mbHurricane
Dec 20, 18:0017.4N 133.1E65 kt960 mbHurricane
Dec 21, 00:0017.5N 132.9E45 kt970 mbTropical storm
Dec 21, 06:0017.5N 132.6E40 kt980 mbTropical storm
Dec 21, 12:0017.5N 132.3E40 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 21, 18:0017.6N 132.0E30 kt992 mbTropical depression
Dec 22, 00:0017.7N 131.8E25 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Dec 22, 06:0017.9N 131.6E20 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Dec 22, 12:0018.4N 131.4E20 kt1006 mbTropical depression
Dec 22, 18:0019.7N 131.6E1006 mbTropical storm
Dec 23, 00:0020.1N 131.6E1010 mbTropical storm

Other Eastern Pacific storms of 1997

What this means

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.

Sources

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.

The National Hurricane Center has published no tropical cyclone report for this storm.