 Hurricane Janet was the most powerful tropical cyclone of the season and one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record . The hurricane formed from a tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles on September 21 . Moving toward the west across the Caribbean Sea , Janet fluctuated in intensity , but generally strengthened before reaching its peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir – Simpson hurricane scale with winds of 175 mph ( 280 km / h ) . The intense hurricane made landfall at that intensity near <unk> , Mexico on September 28 . Janet 's landfall as a Category 5 hurricane on the Yucatán Peninsula marked the first recorded instance that a storm of such intensity in the Atlantic basin made on a continental mainland , with all previous storms making landfall as Category 5 hurricanes on islands . After weakening over the Yucatán Peninsula , it moved into the Bay of Campeche , where it slightly strengthened before making its final landfall near Veracruz on September 29 . Janet quickly weakened over Mexico 's mountainous terrain before dissipating on September 30 . 
