Hurricane Debby was the first hurricane to strike the Mexican state of Veracruz since Hurricane Anna in 1956. The eighth tropical cyclone, fourth named storm, and the first hurricane of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season, Debby developed from a tropical wave off the west coast of the Yucatan Peninsula on August 31. The system slowly intensified as it tracked west-northwestward toward Mexico, eventually reaching tropical storm status on September 2. Thereafter, Debby began to rapidly strengthen, and the storm was upgraded to a hurricane later that day. After attaining peak winds of 75 mph (120 km/h), Debby made landfall near Tuxpan, Veracruz early on September 3. The hurricane quickly weakened inland, but managed to reach the eastern Pacific on September 5. Debby became Tropical Depression Seventeen-E, which moved northwest but remained poorly organized due to wind shear and dissipated on September 8. Category 1 hurricane: peak winds of 75 mph (65 knots), lowest pressure 987 mb. August 31 – September 8, 1988. Landfall: September 3 at 75 mph, 20.7°N 97.3°W. Accumulated cyclone energy: 1.6. Wiki link Track: NOAA National Hurricane Center, HURDAT2 best track AL041988 (public domain).