On September 27, Inez strengthened to reach winds of 120 mph (195 km/h), making it a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Later that day, it moved directly over the island of Guadeloupe. At the time, Inez was a small cyclone, with hurricane-force winds extending from the center; meteorologists labeled it as a "micro-hurricane... because of its characteristic small, tight cloud structure and strong maximum surface wind." Its structure became disrupted by the island, and the central pressure rose from to , indicative of weakening. However, Inez re-intensified after entering the eastern Caribbean Sea, reaching a minimum pressure of south of Puerto Rico on September 28. The Hurricane Hunters reported sustained winds of at a height of , the strongest winds recorded for the storm. The same flight estimated surface winds between near the center. The peak intensity listed in the HURDAT, the Atlantic hurricane database, is , making Inez a strong Category 4 hurricane. In 2017, a preliminary re-analysis conducted as part of the ongoing Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project concluded that Inez was likely stronger than originally thought – specifically, a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 165 mph (270 km/h). However, this re-analysis has not yet been officially accepted and included in HURDAT, the official hurricane database for the Atlantic Ocean.