Forming from a tropical wave on August 18, Bret slowly organized within weak steering currents in the Bay of Campeche.

After this period of strengthening, Bret attained its peak intensity with winds of 145 miles per hour (233 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 944 mbar (hPa; 27.9 inHg).

Several days prior to the storm's arrival, the NHC issued hurricane watches, and later warnings for areas near the Texas–Mexico border.

Several major roads leading to barrier island towns were shut down to prevent residents from crossing bridges during the hurricane.

Upon making landfall, the hurricane produced a maximum storm surge of 8.8 ft (2.7 m) at Matagorda Island, Texas.

The wave tracked generally westward, interacting with an upper-level low on August 15 in the western Caribbean Sea, and spawned a low-pressure area.

Later that day, the disturbance emerged into the Bay of Campeche and a Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance mission into the system revealed that it had matured into a tropical depression around 1:00 pm CDT (18:00 UTC), the third of the 1999 season.

[1] Initially, moderate wind shear prevented the depression from strengthening as it moved slowly and erratically in response to weak steering currents over the system.

[6] On the morning of August 22, the storm attained its peak intensity as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 145 miles per hour (233 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 944 mbar (hPa; 27.9 inHg).

[8] At around 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC; August 23), Hurricane Bret passed over Padre Island, Texas, with winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 951 mbar (hPa; 28.1 inHg), which marked its landfall.

A tropical storm warning and hurricane watch were subsequently posted from Baffin Bay northward to Port Aransas.

[1] By August 22, city officials in Corpus Christi, Texas, declared a state of emergency as Bret was considered a significant threat to the region.

Tens of thousands of residents were urged to evacuate coastal areas and seek refuge in local shelters or with relatives further inland.

[11] Highways throughout the area were congested due to the large-scale evacuations and long lines for gas and emergency items developed.

[17] Prior to developing into a tropical depression,[1] the disturbance produced scattered rainfall across the Yucatán Peninsula, locally exceeding 7 in (180 mm).

[18] Although Bret made landfall near the Texas-Mexico border, the small size of the system resulted in limited impacts in Mexico.

[20] In Nogales, heavy rains caused water to accumulate on streets, leading to traffic jams; high winds also downed power lines.

[34] On August 23, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) deployed 717 personnel, mainly from the disaster response team, to the affected regions in the United States.

[29] In the days following the storm, many mosquitoes and other insects laid eggs in areas of standing water, causing a large increase in their numbers.

[37] On August 26, President Bill Clinton added the counties of Brooks, Duval, Jim Wells and Webb to the major disaster declaration area.

[38] Reconstruction of public facilities, roads, and water pipes received increased funding on September 3 to speed up the program.

[39] The following day, twelve disaster recovery centers were opened in the affected counties for residents to apply for federal funding.