By September 1, Ella reached winds of 125 mph (201 km/h), and it was expected to pass close to the Outer Banks of North Carolina during the busy Labor Day Weekend.

Located to the south of a subtropical ridge, the depression tracked steadily west-northwestward, and it attained tropical storm status 18 hours after forming, based on a nearby ship observation.

[1] At 2200 UTC on August 30, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) initiated advisories on the system,[2] but three hours later, as its rapid strengthening became evident, it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Ella.

[1] At the time, the hurricane was forecast to avoid making landfall on North Carolina and ultimately turn northeastward, although it was expected to pass within 50 miles (80 km) of land during the busy Labor Day Weekend.

[1] The Cape Hatteras National Weather Service office requested radio and television stations in the threatened area to continue broadcasting beyond normal hours, so to convey storm updates to people in the region.

[10] Additionally, the Cape Hatteras agency issued an advisory for small craft to remain at port, and also for affected people to "keep alert [and] ignore rumors.

A forecaster with the National Weather Service said the hurricane watch was put into effect because of "thousands of people streaming in and only one road off the Outer Banks, [and they] couldn't wait until the last minute.

[7] Hurricane Ella prompted a scare for engineers secretly working to remedy a structural flaw in the Citigroup Center in New York City, as the high winds could have caused the building to collapse.

[20] Ultimately the engineers solved the flaw by welding heavy steel plates over the bolted joints on the support columns at the building's base.