 Tropical Storm Henri continued to intensify as it tracked through the Bay of Campeche . On September 17 , the storm turned northwestward after the ridge to its north weakened , and later that day Henri reached hurricane status ; six hours later , it reached peak winds of 85 mph ( 140 km / h ) about 150 miles ( 245 km ) northeast of Veracruz . Subsequently , a broad low pressure area developed over the western Gulf of Mexico , causing the motion of Henri to become erratic . On September 18 , the cyclone began a steady weakening trend , believed to have been caused by land interaction and the funneling of moisture toward a developing disturbance near the Texas coast . Henri turned eastward on September 19 and weakened to tropical depression status . It failed to regain significant convection , and it turned northeastward along an extended cold front . On September 24 , Henri merged with the frontal trough in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico . 
