 Hurricane Lorenzo was a rapidly developing tropical cyclone that struck the Mexican state of Veracruz in late September 2007 . The twelfth named storm and fifth hurricane of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season , it formed in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico from a tropical wave . After <unk> for two days without development , the storm began a steady westward track as its structure became better organized . In an 18 ‑ hour period , Lorenzo 's winds increased from 35 mph ( 55 km / h ) to 80 mph ( 130 km / h ) , or from a tropical depression to a hurricane . On September 28 it struck near Tecolutla , Veracruz , a month after Hurricane Dean affected the same area , before it quickly dissipated over land . 
