The hurricane made landfall with the same intensity between the mouth of the Sabine River and Cameron, Louisiana, later that day, causing unprecedented destruction across the region.

As it moved towards the northeast, moisture associated with the extratropical remnants of Audrey intersected with a cold front over the Midwest, producing record rainfall that peaked at 10.20 in (259.08 mm) in Paris, Illinois.

In Quebec, ten people were killed in the Montreal area, making Audrey the deadliest hurricane to strike the Canadian province in recorded history.

[5] The depression was in a highly favorable environment for intensification in the western Gulf of Mexico; sea surface temperatures in the area were at 85 °F (29 °C), or 3 °F (2 °C), which were above normal for the time of year.

In addition, the latitudinal alignment of a polar trough over the Great Plains and the nascent disturbance in the Bay of Campeche created an environment suitable for outflow in the upper-levels of the atmosphere.

[8] At 13:30 UTC (8:30 a.m. CST) on June 27, Audrey made landfall at peak intensity just east of the border between Texas and Louisiana with winds of 125 mph (200 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 946 mbar (hPa; 28.61 inHg).

[4] An oil rig observed conditions that suggested a much stronger storm with winds of 180 mph (290 km/h) and a pressure of 925 mbar (hPa; 27.32 inHg), but those were discarded as erroneous.

An approaching cold front caused Audrey to evolve into an extratropical cyclone, completing this transition on June 29 over West Virginia with a final pressure of 995 mbar (hPa; 29.38 inHg).

[4] The interaction of Audrey with this second system led to the merged extratropical cyclone unexpectedly intensifying, producing hurricane-force winds as it moved across the Northeastern United States,[8] aided in part by an unusual warming of the stratosphere.

[23] The high death toll caused by Audrey was partially blamed on the incompleteness of evacuations before the storm made landfall, attributed by meteorologist Robert Simpson to a lack of proper communication between coastal residents and forecasters.

Although the Weather Bureau's advisories and warnings were technically accurate, they were found in Bartie v. United States to have lacked a sense of urgency or emergency.

[8] The National Weather Service report on the most impactful tropical cyclones in the United States lists Audrey as having caused at least 416 fatalities,[27] with an additional 15 killed in Canada.

[8] The fishing vessel Keturah sank after colliding with an oil rig 11 mi (18 km) off of Galveston, Texas, leading to the loss of nine crewmen.

The surf also washed out a portion of Mustang Island Park Road between Corpus Christi Pass and Packery Channel.

[16] At Port Isabel, tides swelled 2.5 ft (about 75 cm) above normal as Audrey passed to the east, though coastal flooding remained minimal.

[39] Portions of eastern Texas were analyzed to have experienced high-end Category 2 conditions as Audrey made landfall just east of the state.

The rough surf also washed out some segments of Galveston beaches, exacerbated by a local practice of digging holes to sell soil from private beachfront property.

[47] Hurricane Audrey's strong winds generated rough seas offshore Louisiana, with wave heights of 40–50 ft (12–15 m) occurring in the Gulf of Mexico.

Winds were measured at 88 mph (142 km/h) in Lake Charles, Louisiana roughly 35 mi (56 km) northeast of Audrey's eye as it made landfall.

[51] Wood-frame houses were swept by Audrey's storm surge and carried inland several miles from their original locations, with most found on the Intracoastal Waterway.

[50] Several ships were carried well inland, causing damage; two 50 ft (15 m) long fishing boats were deposited on Cameron's Main Street (Louisiana Highway 82) while an offshore oil rig destroyed four fuel storage tanks as it was moved onshore.

[12] Strong winds initially prevented the United States Coast Guard from rescuing stranded residents in the city and nearby areas after dispatching a helicopter and some lifeboats.

[53] Saltwater inundation was particularly damaging to rice, while strong winds blew down corn and heavy rains flooded cotton fields; these were the main crop losses attributed to Audrey.

[54] Forests were also heavily impacted, with an estimated 50,000,000 ft (1,400,000 m3) of timber lost primarily in the parishes of Jeff Davis, Allen, Evangeline, and LaSalle.

[69] Tracking farther inland, the weakening storm brought gusts of up to 50 mph (80 km/h) to Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio, resulting in minor wind damage.

[58][57][71] The interaction of Audrey and a second frontal system tracking across the Midwestern United States drew excess moisture across the region, leading to heavy rainfall across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana.

[54] A total of ten lives were lost in Illinois, Indiana, and New York due to heavy rains and strong winds brought by squalls in Audrey's extratropical remnants.

Areas of New York near Lake Ontario experienced intense wind gusts that caused widespread power outages.

Six people were trapped in Algonquin Provincial Park for four days due to dangerous river currents and downed trees blocking roads.

[53] Statues were erected in honor of those killed by Audrey in southwestern Louisiana, including Highland Memorial Park in Lake Charles where 33 were buried.