The storm rapidly intensified and reached its peak intensity of 125 mph (205 km/h) north of the Bahamas before weakening to Category 2 status near landfall in Massachusetts on September 11.

Edna resulted in the heaviest day of rainfall in New York City in 45 years, while strong waves cut off Montauk from the remainder of Long Island.

[1] The low pressure area was not observed in real time until several days later, on September 5, while situated between Puerto Rico and The Bahamas.

[2][1] The center of circulation passed near San Salvador Island,[3] and on September 8, Edna further strengthened into a Category 3 major hurricane while broadly curving northward.

[2] Midday on September 9, while tracking nearly due north, Edna's minimum central barometric pressure fell to 968 mbar (28.6 inHg), but is believed to have leveled off shortly thereafter.

The radius of hurricane-force winds increased, and the storm may have become asymmetrical, with convection concentrated to the right of the center, although this was not confirmed due to a lack of data.

[2] By September 10, Edna was located just south of Cape Hatteras, passing east of the Outer Banks early the next day.

[2] On September 11, Edna passed directly over Cape Cod after weakening to Category 2 status, although surface weather analysis depicted a central pressure of 950 mbar (28 inHg).

The storm's extratropical remnants reemerged into the northern Atlantic after crossing eastern Canada and were last noted on September 15.

Along the coast of North Carolina and the Virginia Capes, where gale-force winds and high tides were expected, residents were advised to take precautions.

[6] In the Montauk area, 500 residents evacuated their homes by early September 11, while all businesses closed in Westerly, Rhode Island.

[8] Most beach homes had closed for the summer season, and hundreds of people who lived along the southern New England coast evacuated.

About 40 Red Cross shelters, which were opened during Hurricane Carol 11 days prior, were reopened to provide food.

[12] On September 7, a bulletin from San Juan, Puerto Rico reported extensive, flood-inducing rainfall along the western and southern coasts of the island.

[13] Winds blew at up to 70 mph (110 km/h) along the shore, accompanied by strong surf, although no fatalities or major property damage resulted from the storm.

[18] The storm cut off Montauk Point on eastern Long Island at its height, prompting the Coast Guard to temporarily relocate 500 families.

[21] Damage was heaviest in Maine, estimated at $25 million,[16] which made Edna the costliest hurricane in the state's history.

Damage was less from Edna than from Carol, primarily due to its strongest winds not occurring at the time of highest tides, and its track farther to the east.

In contrast with the smaller, more compact Hurricane Juan, which struck Atlantic Canada in 2003, Edna was a much larger storm with strong winds extending hundreds of kilometers from the center.

Edna brought down approximately 700 million board feet of timber, and although the amount of trees the storm destroyed was comparable to that of Juan, its effects were more widespread and not as locally severe.

The intense winds downed power and telephone lines and destroyed many barns; one such structural collapse killed a man, and livestock were lost throughout the region.

Other damage to property included several fallen chimneys, a toppled church steeple in Pictou, and roof failures.

Damage in Nova Scotia totaled $6 million CAD: in the aftermath, Yarmouth and Kentville declared states of emergency.

[23] Affecting densely populated portions of the state, Edna struck the day before the governor race between Republican Burton M. Cross and Democratic Edmund Muskie.

Before the election, politicians commented how a suppressed turnout as a result of the storm would benefit Muskie, in a state where no Democrat had won governorship since 1934.

White published in The New Yorker "The Eye of Edna," [37] a witty satire that pokes gentle fun at radio announcers who seem to enjoy the hurricane and make exaggerated predictions of its speed and strength.