The fourth named storm of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, Debbie originated from a well-defined tropical disturbance that was first identified in late August over Central Africa.

Once clear of the islands, data on the storm became sparse, and the status of Debbie was uncertain over the following several days as it tracked west-northwestward and later northward.

The peaks of the winds over Ireland occurred during the morning and early afternoon on a Saturday (market day) when many people were outdoors doing their shopping.

During late August and into early September 1961, an unusual series of low-level disturbances developed over Central and West Africa and into the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

As the disturbance travelled steadily westward, its mid-level circulation became well defined, and the accompanying low-level centre gradually followed suit.

According to a post-storm study in 1962, all the necessary environmental ingredients were available to the disturbance while it was over land; the only factor inhibiting earlier development was a lack of access to the warm waters.

At the time, the system had a central pressure below 1,006 mbar (29.7 inHg), and sustained winds of 56 km/h (35 mph) were reported in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.

[2][3] Late on 6 September, Debbie passed over the southern Cape Verde Islands as a strong tropical storm or low-end hurricane.

[5] At 19:13 UTC on 7 September, a picture from TIROS-3 showed that an eye had already developed and banding features covered an area more than 480 km (300 mi) from the centre.

[2] Debbie was not classified operationally as a tropical storm until 22:00 UTC on 7 September, at which time the centre was estimated to be about 890 km (550 mi) west-southwest of Sal Island.

[7] During the evening of 11 September, a United States Navy Aircraft reconnaissance mission into the storm estimated sustained winds of 180–190 km/h (110–120 mph) and a central pressure of 976 mbar (976 hPa; 28.8 inHg);[6] based on these data, reanalysis in 2019 concluded that Debbie peaked as a modern-day Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale with winds of 140 km/h (90 mph).

Early on 15 September, the storm acquired extratropical characteristics and passed over the western Azores with winds estimated at 130 km/h (80 mph) before turning more northeasterly.

The remnants of Debbie eventually brushed the coast of Western Ireland near Achill Island during the morning of 16 September with sustained winds of 137 km/h (85 mph).

[8][3] Shortly after striking Ireland, the system was operationally confirmed to have transitioned into an extratropical cyclone as it re-emerged into the northeast Atlantic Ocean.

[6] While passing between Ireland and Scotland, the system continued to deepen, achieving an estimated central pressure of 950 hPa (28.05 inHg).

After clearing Great Britain, the hurricane's remnants turned more easterly, later impacting Norway and the Soviet Union before dissipating on 19 September.

[20] Across County Cavan, thousands of trees were snapped or uprooted, leaving many towns temporarily cut off as roads were blocked and communications lost.

[23] The combination of strong winds and sea spray from the storm caused extensive defoliation of vegetation up to 16 km (10 mi) inland.

[21] In Galway, ESB repair crews worked through labor and supply shortages to restore power and telephone service despite recent strikes in the company.

[24] Due to the severity of damage to the electrical grid, there were numerous requests made to the ESB to build underground power cables, especially in Galway.

[28] Several people were injured in Belfast after a glass ceiling collapsed in a bus station and a piece of corrugated roofing blew in from a nearby building.

[19] Six people were killed in Northern Ireland, mostly due to fallen trees: two in County Fermanagh and one each in Cookstown, Dungannon, Omagh, and elsewhere in Tyrone.

[27] After passing through Ireland, the storm brought strong winds and heavy rain to parts of Scotland and Wales, resulting in some damage and flooding in the region.

Unsettled weather in the Cape Verde Islands brought about by Tropical Storm Debbie was blamed for the deaths of 60 people and a plane crash on 6 September.