killing 45 people. In the northern Gulf of Mexico, a helicopter crashed after carrying evacuees from an oil rig, killing 11 people. The hurricane threatened the northern Yucatán Peninsula, and although it remained offshore, Inez produced flooding and caused some power outages. At its final landfall, Inez flooded portions of Tamaulipas and cut off roads to Tampico. About 84,000 people were left homeless, and the hurricane destroyed at least 2,500 houses. Damage was estimated at $104 million, and there were 74 deaths in Mexico. Meteorological history The origins of Inez were from a tropical wave that formed over the Sahara in central Africa on September 15 from the monsoon. It moved westward in the prevailing winds, exiting the west coast of Africa on September 18. The precursor to Inez was a disturbance along the northern portion of the wave, which was considered a tropical depression by September 18 in the annual tropical cyclone summary. Tracked by satellites, the system moved to the west-southwest, and was officially classified a tropical depression on September 21 about halfway between the Lesser Antilles and Africa. The system remained weak as it turned toward the west-northwest. A Hurricane Hunters flight indicated some intensification in the system, prompting the National Hurricane Center (NHC) to initiate advisories on Tropical Storm Inez, located about east of Martinique. With warm water temperatures, the storm developed a circular area of convection over its center. Inez slowed while curving westward around a ridge to its north and quickly intensified, reaching hurricane status on September 26. On September 27, Inez strengthened to reach winds of 120 mph (195 km/h), making it a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Later that day, it moved directly over the island of Guadeloupe. At the time, Inez was a small cyclone, with hurricane-force winds extending from the center; meteorologists labeled it as a "micro-hurricane... because of its characteristic small, tight cloud structure and strong maximum surface wind." Its structure became disrupted by the island, and the central pressure rose from to , indicative of weakening. However, Inez re-intensified after entering the eastern Caribbean Sea, reaching a minimum pressure of south of Puerto Rico on September 28. The Hurricane Hunters reported sustained winds of at a height of , the strongest winds recorded for the storm. The same flight estimated surface winds between near the center. The peak intensity listed in the HURDAT, the Atlantic hurricane