abstract
| - The 1997 Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1st, 1997 and ended November 30th, 1997.
- The 1997 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1997, and lasted until November 30, 1997. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. This hurricane season was an inactive one, with only 8 storms forming (1 unnamed contributed to 8). It was the first time since 1961 that there were no tropical cyclones that formed in the month of August. The reason for the inactivity of the season is because of a strong El Niño that developed during the heart of the season. Despite the season having an unusually early flurry of activity, the fifth named storm, Erika, didn't arrive until September, when the fourth storm, Danny, arrived in July. As is usually the case during El Niño years, tropical storm formation was supressed in the tropical latitudes, with only two storms forming south of 25°N. Despite being inactive, the season did have some notable storms. Though no land impacts were felt, Subtropical Storm One formed on June 1, though the low-pressure area that spawned it formed on May 31. It is very rare for a tropical cyclone or a subtropical cyclone to develop this early during any Atlantic hurricane season. Another notable storm was Hurricane Danny, which struck extreme southeastern Louisiana near the Mouth of the Mississippi River as an 85 mph Category 1 hurricane. Danny killed 4 people, and caused an estimated $100,000,000 (1997 USD) in damage. The last notable storm of the season was Hurricane Erika, which passed within 85 miles of the Lesser Antilles, but thankfully, did not do any damage. Erika was also the strongest storm of the season, becoming a Category 3 major hurricane.
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