Claudette wobbled to the northwest over the Gulf of Mexico and gradually restrengthened. Upper-level winds steadily decreased, and Claudette again became a hurricane late on July 14. Just prior to landfall, it strengthened quickly and picked up its forward motion in a more westerly direction, striking Port O'Connor, Texas, on July 15, as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale with 90 mph (150 km/h) winds. Residents along and inland of the central Texas coast were caught off guard both by its intensity and its time of arrival. The hurricane was projected to make landfall in the evening hours of July 15, but instead came ashore before noon. Furthermore, some initial estimates suggested that Claudette had reached Category 2 status, with sustained winds of up to 100 mph (155 km/h); these were based on unofficial observations which were not backed up by official data.