Passing north of the Lesser Antilles, the hurricane rapidly intensified as it approached the Turks and Caicos islands.

It also became a small storm, as Grand Turk Island reported winds of 56 mph (90 km/h) while the hurricane passed slightly to the north on August 30.

At 0130 UTC the next day, a ship near Mayaguana reported a barometric pressure of 930 mbar (27 inHg) and hurricane-force winds.

At around 1200 UTC on September 1, the hurricane made landfall on northern Cuba near Sagua La Grande, with winds of about 120 mph (190 km/h).

Shortly thereafter the storm exited into the Straits of Florida, and late on September 1 the hurricane passed about 16 mi (26 km) north of Havana.

After entering the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane restrengthened, and a ship reported a pressure of 948 mbar (28.0 inHg) late on September 2; this suggested winds of about 140 mph (230 km/h).

At 0400 UTC on September 5, the hurricane made its final landfall on South Padre Island in southern Texas, with winds estimated at 125 mph (205 km/h).

[3] Throughout its path, the hurricane killed at least 179 people collectively in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Cuba, and south Texas.

A nearby coastal town 20 mi (32 km) east of Cárdenas was described as being "virtually leveled by the storm" in news reports.

[16] While the hurricane was over the Bahamas late on August 30, the United States Weather Bureau issued storm warnings for southern Florida.

Two days later, the storm struck Cuba and passed south of the state, producing peak winds of 42 mph (68 km/h) in Key West.

As a result, an official at the Corpus Christi Weather Bureau office estimated that the warning "probably saved thousands of lives."

When the storm's westward motion became more apparent, the hurricane warning was dropped north of Corpus Christi and extended southward to Brownsville.

[5] Officials in Corpus Christi declared martial law before the storm struck and ordered mandatory evacuations of low-lying areas.

The tides flooded portions of Corpus Christi about 3 ft (0.91 m) deep, sinking boats and damaging piers.

[19] The rains from the storm and two previous hurricanes led to a large increase in tropical butterfly species across the area.