 A tropical wave developed into Tropical Storm Judith on October 17 , near the Yucatán Channel . It strengthened quickly , and by early on October 18 the storm was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane . However six hours later Judith had weakened back to a tropical storm . Around 1800 UTC on October 18 the storm made landfall near Boca Grande , Florida , with winds of 50 mph ( 85 km / h ) . After emerging into the Atlantic Ocean on the following day , Judith began re @-@ strengthening while heading east @-@ northeastward , reaching hurricane status several hours later . It peaked with winds of 80 mph ( 130 km / h ) early on October 20 , before weakening back to a tropical storm again on October 21 . Judith weakened further , before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone later that day . 
