Connie first posed a threat to the Lesser Antilles, ultimately passing about 105 mi (169 km) north of the island group.

The outer rainbands produced hurricane-force wind gusts and intense precipitation, reaching 8.65 in (220 mm) in Puerto Rico.

After affecting Puerto Rico, Connie reached maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (230 km/h), and a barometric pressure of 944 mbar (27.9 inHg), as observed by the Hurricane Hunters on August 7.

The storm progressed inland after moving through the Chesapeake Bay region, and was later absorbed by a cold front over Lake Huron on August 15.

Ahead of the storm, the United States Weather Bureau issued widespread hurricane warnings, spurring evacuations, flight cancelations, and beach closures.

In Chesapeake Bay, Connie capsized a boat, killing 14 people and prompting a change in Coast Guard regulations.

The hurricane continued to intensify as it approached the northern Lesser Antilles, passing about 105 mi (169 km) north of the island group on August 6.

A Hurricane Hunters flight on August 7 observed an eye shaped like an inverted cone – larger at flight-level, and a diameter of 9 mi (14 km) at the surface.

A building ridge to its northeast, as well as some interaction with developing Hurricane Diane to its southeast, caused Connie to move slower toward the west-northwest.

The hurricane made landfall near Fort Macon State Park in North Carolina at that intensity around 15:00 UTC.

After passing through the Hampton Roads area, Connie turned back to the north-northwest, steered by a strengthening upper-level trough and low, located over Illinois.

[2] On August 5, Hurricane Connie began to become an apparent threat to the northeastern Caribbean Islands, with maximum winds in the storm reaching 125 mph (201 km/h).

[5] While Connie was meandering in the western Atlantic Ocean, its potential track posed problems for forecasters, due to its slow movement near the southeast United States coastline.

More than 100 merchant vessels from a dozen counties anchored in the waters of Hampton Roads, or while small boats were secured at port.

[12] The threat of Connie also canceled a flight by President Dwight Eisenhower from Gettysburg to Washington, D.C., prompting him to travel instead by car.

[15] As the hurricane passed north of the Lesser Antilles, the outer rainbands of Connie produced wind gusts as high as 104 mph (167 km/h) on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.

[20] The hurricane produced tides up to 8 ft (2.4 m) above normal while moving slowly ashore, which resulted in significant beach erosion.

[25][26] The combination of strong winds and high waves wrecked a 125 ft (38 m) schooner in the Chesapeake Bay named the Levin J.

Of the 23 passengers and four crew members, 14 people drowned, making it "one of the worst maritime calamities in the history of Tidewater Maryland", as described by The Baltimore Sun.

[27] Farther from the storm's immediate landfall, Connie's precipitation was beneficial Delaware due to prior drought conditions.

[31] The rains caused flooding that was described as "inconsequential" by the United States Geological Survey, due to preceding drought conditions.

The deluge exceeded the capacity of sewers and creeks, closed roads, and entered the basements of homes, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate.

[16][29][38][39] Hurricane Connie brought the heaviest rain seen in New York City in over 50 years, totaling 5.32 in (135 mm) within a 20-hour span.

[40] High winds and tides from the storm cancelled ferry service,[40] and forced LaGuardia Airport to temporarily shut down after flooding reached 1 ft (0.30 m) deep.

[21][18] Flooding washed out a portion of the Delaware and Hudson Railway in the Helderberg Mountains, causing two trains to derail; there were no injuries.

[22] When the remnants of Connie entered Ontario on August 14, it continued to produce winds of up to 46 mph (74 km/h), and the storm dropped 2.56 in (65 mm) of rainfall near the Great Lakes.

[43] Late in the storm's path through the United States, Connie produced wind gusts of 65 mph (105 km/h) along Lake Huron in Michigan, causing high waves that damaged or sank many small boats.

[22] Just five days after Connie struck North Carolina,[1] Hurricane Diane affected the same area, but instead of continuing to the northwest it turned to the northeast.

[46] The loss of the Levin J. Marvel during the hurricane prompted the United States Congress to pass a law in 1956, which allowed the Coast Guard to inspect all vessels with more than six passengers; the previous law only allowed inspections for boats of more than 700 tons, much higher than the 183 tons that the Marvel displaced.

Judge Robert Dorsey Watkins, however, acquitted him of the manslaughter charge, instead sentencing him to one-year probation for negligence.