Hurricane Guillermo (1997)
| Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Hurricane Guillermo at peak intensity on August 5
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| Formed | July 30, 1997 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | August 24, 1997 |
| (Extratropical after August 15) | |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 160 mph (260 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 919 mbar (hPa); 27.14 inHg (Estimated; ninth lowest in the eastern Pacific) |
| Fatalities | 3 total |
| Areas affected | Pacific coast of Mexico, California and Hawaii |
| Part of the 1997 Pacific hurricane season | |
Hurricane Guillermo was the ninth most intense Pacific hurricane on record, attaining peak winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 919 hPa (27.14 inHg). Forming out of a tropical wave on July 30, 1997, roughly 345 mi (555 km) south of Salina Cruz, Mexico, Guillermo tracked in a steady west-northwestward direction while intensifying. The system reached hurricane status by August 1 before undergoing rapid intensification the following day. At the end of this phase, the storm attained its peak intensity as a powerful Category 5 hurricane. The storm began to weaken during the afternoon of August 5 and was downgraded to a tropical storm on August 8. Once entering the Central Pacific Hurricane Center's area of responsibility, Guillermo briefly weakened to a tropical depression before re-attaining tropical storm status. On August 15, the storm reached an unusually high latitude of 41.8°N before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone. The remnants persisted for more than a week as they tracked towards the northeast and later south and east before being absorbed by a larger extratropical system off the coast of California on August 24.
Throughout Guillermo's track, the storm never threatened any major landmass, resulting in little impact on land. However, because of its extreme intensity, it produced large swells across the Pacific Ocean, affecting areas from Hawaii to coastal Mexico. Along the American Pacific coast, three people drowned amid high waves, two in Baja California and one in California. At its peak, Guillermo was the second strongest known Pacific hurricane on record; however, it has since been surpassed by seven other storms, including Linda later that year. The effects of Guillermo were not deemed severe enough to justify retirement of its name.
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