The 1997 Pacific typhoon season was a record-breaking season featuring 11 tropical cyclones reaching super typhoon intensity, tying the record with 1965 with the most violent tropical cyclones globally. It has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1997, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator and west of the International Date Line. Storms that form east of the Date Line and north of the equator are called hurricanes; see 1997 Pacific hurricane season. Tropical Storms formed in the entire west Pacific basin were assigned a name by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Tropical depressions in this basin have the "W" suffix added to their number. Tropical depressions that enter or form in the Philippine area of responsibility are assigned a name by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA. This can often result in the same storm having two names. This season had 10 Saffir-Simpson Category 5-equivalent tropical cyclones, the most ever recorded. This is even greater than the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which had nearly half of the amount. Seasonal summary The season was unusual and exceptional in the number of super typhoons that occurred in the basin. According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, eleven tropical cyclones attained super typhoon status, ten of which became Category 5 Super Typhoons, marking the highest number of Category 5 storms in a single season on record. Eleven typhoons reached winds of at least 135 knots. They were Isa, Nestor, Rosie, Winnie, Bing, Oliwa (from Central Pacific), Ginger, Ivan, Joan, Keith, and Paka (also from the Central Pacific). This was due to the El Niño of 1997–1998, which contributed to the record amounts of not only super typhoons but also tropical storms in the Western and Eastern Pacific. Fortunately, most of the stronger systems remained at sea. This is also due to the El Nino during that time, which tends to shift typhoon tracks east. When Severe Tropical Storm Peter made landfall in southern Japan on June 27, it marked the first time that two tropical cyclones made landfall in mainland Japan during the month of June since reliable records began in 1951. Systems Tropical