Inez brushed the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula with hurricane-force winds. By then, the ridge had begun to weaken, allowing the hurricane to turn more west-northwestward. On October 8, Inez attained a secondary peak intensity of 140 mph (220 km/h), with a pressure of . Briefly threatening the coastline of Texas, Inez turned to the southwest after the ridge again strengthened. On October 10, the hurricane made its final landfall near Tampico, Tamaulipas, in northeastern Mexico. It weakened rapidly over the region's high terrain, dissipating on October 11. The unusual track of Inez marked the first time on record that a tropical cyclone affected the Lesser and Greater Antilles, Bahamas, Florida, and Mexico. The Associated Press described Inez as the "first to strike the Yucatán Peninsula in many years." It was also the first to move across the Gulf of Mexico without turning to the north so late in the season, and the 65 advisories issued by the NHC was the highest number at the time. The path taken by Inez was compared to Hurricane Betsy in 1965, which also slowed and moved erratically due to a strong ridge. Forecasters had difficulty with the hurricane because of its unusual path, as well as the inability to fly the Hurricane Hunters into Inez while it was over Cuba. Preparations In Guadeloupe, which was the first area the hurricane affected, residents evacuated to schools set up as shelters. Pan American World Airways canceled flights to the region. When Inez was near peak intensity, the NHC warned residents in southern Haiti and the Dominican Republic of the danger posed by the hurricane. The agency emphasized that the eye was visible on radar to calm tension of an unexpected change in track. In general, hurricane warnings were issued 24 hours in advance, with the exception of southeastern Florida due to the hurricane's slowing track. Overall, 250,000 people evacuated along the path of Inez. At Guantánamo Bay, officials ordered residents at the naval base to evacuate to storm shelters. Large ships at the port there were moved to Jamaica before the storm struck. Throughout eastern Cuba, Premier Fidel Castro ordered about 125,000 people to evacuate in low-lying areas, mostly in Oriente Province. United States Air Force tracking stations in the Bahamas were secured or moved to safer locations. Residents in the Florida Keys boarded up windows and store fronts, and hundreds of people evacuated