Shortly after exiting Cuba into the Atlantic, Inez weakened into a tropical storm, and was moving northeastward through the Bahamas about 24 hours later than forecast. At the time, the storm was expected to continue to the northeast around the Bermuda high. With little outflow and a large, diffuse circulation, Inez did not restrengthen much despite otherwise favorable conditions, potentially due to a nearby trough. The movement slowed, and the 1966 hurricane summary remarked that "Inez probably became nearly stationary closer to the United States mainland than any other storm." On October 3, Inez turned to the west-southwest as another ridge strengthened over the western Gulf of Mexico. Over the subsequent few days, the eye moved directly over the Florida Keys from Key Largo to Key West and continued through the Gulf of Mexico while slowly intensifying. On October 7, Inez brushed the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula with hurricane-force winds. By then, the ridge had begun to weaken, allowing the hurricane to turn more west-northwestward. On October 8, Inez attained a secondary peak intensity of 140 mph (220 km/h), with a pressure of . Briefly threatening the coastline of Texas, Inez turned to the southwest after the ridge again strengthened. On October 10, the hurricane made its final landfall near Tampico, Tamaulipas, in northeastern Mexico. It weakened rapidly over the region's high terrain, dissipating on October 11.