It was one of two storms that year to inflict hurricane-force winds over South Texas, causing significant damage there; the other occurred in early September.

On July 29, the cyclone came under the influence of changing steering currents in the atmosphere, which forced the storm into Florida near Hobe Sound a day later.

Winds damaged buildings and crops in Tamaulipas and the southern regions of Texas, with heavy losses to citrus production in the Rio Grande Valley.

While only one person died in the United States, heavy rains led to catastrophic flooding that claimed at least 31 lives in northern Mexico; the worst-hit areas were in and near the city of Monterrey.

[3] At 12:00 UTC on July 24, HURDAT initialized a tropical depression some 430 miles (690 km) east of Saint Lucia in the Windward Islands.

Prior to reanalysis in 2012, official records indicated formation at 12:00 UTC on July 25; however, examination of observations from ships and land stations revealed a closed low a day earlier.

[4] However, ships and weather stations did not observe gales until later that day, so the winds in HURDAT were interpolated, but based on available data, the storm strengthened steadily.

[5] A barometer on Saba measured 983 mb (29.02 inHg), implying maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (135 km/h);[7] based on this, the storm was posthumously upgraded to hurricane status at 00:00 UTC on July 26, 12 hours earlier than once designated in HURDAT.

[4] On July 27, the cyclone brushed Grand Turk and the Caicos, producing winds visually estimated at 85 mph (137 km/h) on the former island, with a peripheral pressure of 995 mb (29.37 inHg).

[9] Based on ship reports, the storm made its only landfall in the United States on Jupiter Island, between Port Salerno and Hobe Sound, Florida, around 16:00 UTC on July 30.

The center of the compact tropical cyclone then passed slightly north of Punta Gorda and reached the Gulf of Mexico, between Venice and Englewood, with winds of 45 mph (70 km/h).

[4] From this point, few ships were near the center of the storm with which to accurately discern its location and intensity, though data on August 1–2 confirmed a weaker cyclone than earlier.

[5] Based on this pressure, reanalysis inferred that the storm began gradually restrengthening a day earlier, reaching 65 mph (105 km/h) at the time of the reading.

[8] For a day, the storm briefly angled to the west as it neared the Mexico–United States border, reaching its final and strongest peak of 90 mph (145 km/h) late on August 4.

[14] Fearing flooding, authorities were empowered by Florida governor David Sholtz to evacuate over 4,200–5,000 residents, most of whom were black farm workers, from low-lying areas around Lake Okeechobee to elevated locations.

According to a survey by local fire officials, the calm eye was observed from Hobe Sound to the edge of Stuart, during which passage "hardly a needle in pine trees along the side of the road could be seen moving.

[35] The copious rains submerged roads and rural countryside in Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie counties, but did not render highways impassible for traffic.

[38][39] However, roads in the Jupiter area could only be traversed "with great difficulty", and water stood 2.5 ft (0.76 m) deep on parts of Dixie Highway.

Floodwaters shut down a bridge in town, and aside from a West Palm Beach commuter, bus drivers were the only motorists on flooded roads.

[40] The Post described the predicament of Matt Platt, the commuter from West Palm Beach, as he entered Jupiter: Trains were getting through but travel by car in any direction was almost taboo.

[41] A washout affected a 70-foot (21 m) section of track bed on the Florida East Coast Railway in Port Salerno, halting three passenger trains for a combined 7.5 hours.

[40] African-American communities in Stuart reported severe flooding as well, and torrential rains formed potholes in streets in West Palm Beach.

[14][40] The rains demonstrated that local communities could be stranded, causing funds to be expedited toward bridge repairs on the Loxahatchee River near Jupiter.

[19] Loose branches falling on power lines temporarily disrupted electricity in Palm Beach, where flooding affected low-lying ground.

[19] Despite inconveniences, residents made good humor of the elements: newspapers noted that a parrot lost shortly before the storm was spotted in a tree, uninjured, and returned to its owner.

[34] Additional heavy rains fell over the west coast of Florida, but to a lesser extent than on the east; as was the case elsewhere, notable wind damage was almost non-existent.

[34] In St. Petersburg, citizens enjoyed a refreshing northeast breeze that removed dead fronds from palms, uprooted scattered plants, and sent waves splashing over seawalls.

[21] The storm also disrupted communications between the Texas mainland and the barrier islands, where high tides stranded 25–30 campers and a detachment of cavalry from Fort Brown.

[46] Water levels along the Rio Grande rose by 14 ft (4.3 m), though the river ultimately fell short of flood stage and spared surrounding areas of damage.

[50] Nearer to the coast, strong winds severely damaged the famed Teatro Reforma, a theater dating to the Maximilian era of the 1860s, in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, where many homes were destroyed.