Hurricane Pauline was one of the strongest and deadliest Pacific hurricane

Pacific hurricane

A Pacific hurricane or tropical storm is a tropical cyclone that develops in the northeastern part of the Pacific Ocean. For organizational purposes, the northern Pacific Ocean is divided into three regions: the eastern, , central , and western...

s to make landfall

Landfall (meteorology)

Landfall is the event of a tropical cyclone or a waterspout coming onto land after being over water. When a waterspout makes landfall it is reclassified as a tornado, which can then cause damage inland...

 on Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. The sixteenth tropical storm, eighth hurricane, and seventh major hurricane of the 1997 Pacific hurricane season

1997 Pacific hurricane season

The 1997 Pacific hurricane season was a very active hurricane season. With hundreds of deaths and billions of dollars in damage, this season was the costliest and one of the deadliest Pacific hurricane seasons. This was due to a strong El Niño...

, Pauline developed out of a tropical wave

Tropical wave

Tropical waves, easterly waves, or tropical easterly waves, also known as African easterly waves in the Atlantic region, are a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which move from east to west across the tropics causing areas of...

 on October 5 about 250 miles (410 km) south-southwest of Huatulco

Huatulco

Huatulco , centered on the town of La Crucecita, is a tourist development in Mexico. It is located on the Pacific coast in the state of Oaxaca. Huatulco's tourism industry is centered on its nine bays thus the name Bahias de Huatulco but has since been unofficially shortened to simply Huatulco...

. The depression intensified into a tropical storm early the next day. By October 7, Pauline reached hurricane intensity. It initially moved eastward, then turned northwestward and quickly strengthened to reach peak winds of 135 mph (215 km/h).