Hurricane Danny was the only hurricane to make landfall in the United States during the 1997 Atlantic hurricane season, and the second hurricane and fourth tropical storm of the season. The system became the earliest-formed fifth tropical or subtropical storm of the Atlantic season in history when it attained tropical storm strength on July 17, and held that record until the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season when Tropical Storm Emily broke that record by several days. Like the previous four tropical or subtropical cyclones of the season, Danny had a non-tropical origin, after a trough spawned convection that entered the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Danny was guided northeast through the Gulf of Mexico by two high pressure areas, a rare occurrence in the middle of July. After making landfall on the Gulf Coast, Danny tracked across the southeastern United States and ultimately affected parts of New England with rain and wind. Category 1 hurricane: peak winds of 80 mph (70 knots), lowest pressure 984 mb. July 16 – July 27, 1997. Landfalls: July 18 at 75 mph, 29.3°N 89.7°W; July 19 at 80 mph, 30.2°N 88.1°W; July 19 at 75 mph, 30.4°N 87.9°W. Accumulated cyclone energy: 6.0. Wiki link Track: NOAA National Hurricane Center, HURDAT2 best track AL051997 (public domain).