 By the time Keith became a tropical storm , it was beginning to undergo rapid deepening , fueled by warm waters , low wind shear , and an organizing cloud pattern . There initially was uncertainty in the storm 's future movement , due to a ridge in the Gulf of Mexico . Tropical cyclone prediction models differed on their assessments ; three models anticipated a turn to the northeast toward Florida due to a trough , while others predicted a continued slow motion to the west @-@ northwest , eventually reaching the Bay of Campeche . After continued strengthening , Keith became a hurricane on September 30 , just 18 hours after becoming a tropical storm , and making it the seventh such storm of that intensity of the season . That day , an eye began developing as the structure became much better organized . In a 13 ‑ hour period beginning at 1808 UTC on September 30 , Keith underwent explosive deepening , as its barometric pressure dropped at a rate of nearly 3 mbar ( 0 @.@ 089 inHg ) per hour . The NHC noted that Keith experienced conditions " ideal for strengthening " , with the exception of the approaching land interaction with the Yucatán peninsula . The hurricane slowed until stalling offshore eastern Belize , caused by the ridge to the north and the precursor to Tropical Storm Leslie forming over Cuba . By early on October 1 , Keith had developed a well @-@ defined eye about 20 mi ( 32 km ) in diameter , with what the NHC described as a " spectacular appearance . " Later that day , Hurricane Hunters estimated a minimum pressure of 939 mbar ( 27 @.@ 7 inHg ) and deployed a dropsonde that observed peak winds of 176 mph ( 283 km / h ) . Based on the data , the NHC estimated that Keith attained peak winds of 140 mph ( 230 km / h ) at 0700 UTC on October 1 , while just offshore eastern Belize . This made it a Category 4 on the Saffir @-@ Simpson Hurricane Scale . 
