 As a tropical wave , Gert crossed Honduras and the Yucatán peninsula before organizing into Tropical Depression Seven on the afternoon of July 23 in the Bay of Campeche . It was upgraded to Tropical Storm Gert early the next day , gaining the record for the earliest formation of a seventh named storm in an Atlantic hurricane season . Gert strengthened little before making landfall south of Tampico , Tamaulipas , late on July 24 , with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph ( 70 km / h ) and a minimum central pressure of 1005 mbar ( 29 @.@ 68 inHg ) . It moved inland over central Mexico before dissipating on the next day . Gert struck in approximately the same area as Hurricane Emily just four days earlier , causing fear of flooding and landslides due to saturated lands . As a precaution , some 1 @,@ 000 people were evacuated from low @-@ lying residences and businesses near the towns of Naranjos Amatlán and Tamiahua . 
