Donna further intensified to a Category 4 hurricane early on September 6, and attained peak winds of 145 mph (233 km/h) twenty-four hours later.

Donna generated severe wind gusts of up to 173 mph (278 km/h) over southern portions of the archipelago nation, and prolific rains affected the country and the nearby Turks and Caicos Islands.

[1] Based on the data, the United States Weather Bureau office in San Juan, Puerto Rico, initiated advisories on Hurricane Donna at 22:00 UTC on September 2,[2] about 700 miles (1,100 km) east of the Lesser Antilles.

[4] Continuing to the west-northwest, Donna strengthened further, attaining maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (201 km/h) at 00:00 UTC on September 4—an intensity it maintained for two more days.

Subsequently, a cold front moved eastward through the United States and weakened the ridge, causing the hurricane to turn more to the northwest.

It re-intensified over warm sea surface temperatures,[1] and the hurricane's minimum barometric pressure dropped to 930 mbar (27 inHg) on September 10.

The hurricane continued to the northwest along the southwest coast of Florida, weakening due to interaction with the peninsula, before making landfall on Goodland, a short distance east of Marco Island, with winds of 120 mph (190 km/h).

At 0800 UTC on September 11, Donna exited Daytona Beach into the western Atlantic with winds of about 75 mph (121 km/h), still as an organized hurricane.

Accelerating to the northeast due to an approaching trough, the hurricane re-intensified slightly before making landfall near Wilmington, North Carolina, early on September 12 with winds of 105 mph (169 km/h).

At 0900 UTC that day, Donna again emerged over open waters near Virginia, although it had weakened, and the eye expanded to over 50 miles (80 km) in diameter.

[8] In Puerto Rico, flood warnings were issued on September 5, although some residents in the region did not heed the notice; many returned to their homes after the hurricane passed to the north.

[9] Officials advised small boats to remain at port, and thousands of residents evacuated to schools set up as Red Cross shelters.

At 5 p.m., hurricane warnings were lowered south of Fernandina Beach, while they were extended northward to include the entire North Carolina coast.

A weather station in Sint Maarten reported sustained wind gusts of 125 mph (201 km/h) and a 952 mbar (28.1 inHg) pressure reading in the main airport.

[25] Donna crossed directly over United States Air Force radar station Texas Tower 4, causing severe damage to the structure and leading to its eventual loss in January 1961.

[34]: 1  A fire destroyed a cocktail lounge in Juno Beach after response teams were unable to extinguish the blaze due to high winds.

[28] Floodwaters reached about 7 ft (2.1 m) in height inside the historic Collier County Courthouse, forcing refugees taking shelter in the building to evacuate to the second floor.

[28][41] In Beaufort County, many trees were uprooted, power lines were downed, homes were unroofed, piers were destroyed, and there was significant damage to corn and soybean crops.

Storm tides ranging from 4 to 8 feet (1.2 to 2.4 m) above normal caused significant beach erosion and structural damage at Wilmington and Nags Head.

Offshore, rough seas sank or destroyed numerous small crafts, while a 12,000 tonnes (26,000,000 lb) vessel was driven aground.

The storm killed three people in Virginia; two of the deaths occurred when a barge collided with a freighter and later sank, and another after a man attempted to safeguard his boat.

Severe small stream flooding caused significant damage, especially on Long Island, the waterfront of New York City, and further north in Greene County.

[28] The strong southwest winds associated with Donna, in combination with very little rainfall, led to a significant deposit of salt spray, which whitewashed southwest-facing windows.

Strong winds felled trees and power lines, causing residents in the southern portions of the state to lose telephone service and electricity.

[48][49] The United States military sent a plane carrying doctors and food from Patrick Air Force Base to Mayaguana in the Bahamas.

Although salinity levels returned to normal within six weeks, dissolved oxygen concentrations remained quite low for a longer time frame.

Juvenile pink shrimp moved from their estuarine nursery grounds into deeper water about 60 miles (97 km) offshore, where they were subsequently captured by fishermen.

[54][55] Nobel Prize-winner John Steinbeck wrote about Hurricane Donna in his 1962 non-fiction memoir Travels with Charley: In Search of America.

Steinbeck had had a truck fitted with a custom camper-shell for a journey he intended to take across the United States, accompanied by his poodle Charley.

Steinbeck wrote of saving his boat during the middle of the hurricane, during which he jumped into the water and was blown to shore clinging to a fallen branch driven by the high winds.