Rainfall associated with the storm was relatively light, due to the hurricane's rapid forward motion once inland, peaking at 9.3 in (0.24 m) in Woodsboro, Texas.

[nb 2] A tropical wave was first noted near St. Lucia at 0600 UTC on August 21, associated with squally weather, though there were little signs of any organization.

[2] However, in HURDAT–the official database of positions and intensities of Atlantic hurricanes dating back to 1851–the system is listed to have already organized into a tropical storm at the same time.

Though signs of development were first noted at around this time, later reanalysis was conducted on the system, revealing that it had already strengthened to the equivalent of a modern-day Category 1 hurricane.

[3] Shortly after, the hurricane made its first landfall at a similar intensity on the northeastern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula late on August 27.

[2][3] Once in the Gulf of Mexico on August 28, the hurricane moved northwest on a nearly linear path towards the Texas coast as it steadily intensified.

In the storm-warning area of Galveston, Texas, roughly 50,000 people evacuated inland; the high number of evacuees was likely due in part to another hurricane which struck the coast a week prior.

[6] Other coastal locations were evacuated via trucks, buses, and trains with the guidance of warnings published by the United States Weather Bureau.

[4] Upon making landfall near Palacios, Texas early on August 30, considerable damage was wrought to an extensive area of the state.

[4] Due to debris and other sediments scattered by the strong waves, the reach of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in both the Matagorda and San Antonio Bays decreased by 540 sq ft (50 m2).

The strong wave action reopened two inlets near Corpus Christi Pass, and also destroyed two cottages on North Beach.

[10] The hurricane also brought strong winds which caused considerable damage as far inland as San Antonio, Texas, 120 mi (190 km) from the coast.

In Seadrift, Texas, where the storm's lowest pressure reading of 952 mbar (952 hPa; 28.1 inHg) was recorded, winds were estimated to have reached 115 mph (185 km/h).

On August 30, despite being situated over the Austin and San Antonio metropolitan areas, the storm still retained maximum sustained winds of at least 50 mph (80 km/h).

Similar effects occurred in Atascosa County and Seguin, Texas, where trees were uprooted and additional buildings were damaged.

The low number of fatalities is attributable to the extensive evacuation procedures which the area underwent prior to the storm, as well as warnings provided by the Weather Bureau.