Damage was heaviest where it moved ashore and in the territory's central portion, and throughout Puerto Rico there were 15,023 houses that were destroyed by Betsy.

[1] On that basis, it is estimated that Tropical Storm Betsy developed that day about 835 mi (1,344 km) east of Barbados.

[3] The next day, a Hurricane Hunters flight observed winds of 120 mph (190 km/h), which indicated that Betsy had intensified significantly overnight.

[1] After maintaining that intensity for about 24 hours, Betsy began weakening,[3] moving directly over Marie-Galante and southern Guadeloupe.

[3] On August 12, Hurricane Betsy passed about 30 mi (48 km) south of Saint Croix before striking southeastern Puerto Rico.

By that time, the storm had increased in size; the Hurricane Hunters reported that the gale-force winds extended 125 mi (201 km) to its north.

[3] The eye became increasingly poorly defined,[1] and Betsy weakened to a tropical storm on August 18 to the south of Nova Scotia.

The high winds destroyed upwards of 60% of the banana, breadfruit, coconut, and papaya crop, which severely impacted the economy.

Another ship in the region drifted for several days south of Saint Croix due to a damaged engine.

[5] When Betsy crossed Puerto Rico, it produced hurricane-force winds across the entire territory except in the southwest corner.

[1] The high winds downed a significant number of trees in the island's interior due to the funneling within valleys.

[5] The hurricane dropped heavy rainfall in the central portion of the island,[4] with a peak 24‑hour total of 8.72 in (221 mm) in Río Grande.

[2] Due to the damage, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower declared Puerto Rico as a disaster area on August 18, which allocated millions of dollars in assistance.

Although Betsy remained far away from the state, its eye was observed on radar in Miami at a potentially record distance of 337 mi (542 km).