Eloise made landfall along the Florida Panhandle west of Panama City before moving inland across Alabama and dissipating on September 24.

The storm produced torrential rainfall throughout the islands of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, causing extensive flooding that led to severe damage and more than 40 deaths.

Upon making landfall in Florida, Eloise generated wind gusts of 155 miles per hour (249 km/h), which demolished hundreds of buildings in the area.

In that region, an additional 17 people died as a result of freshwater flooding from the post-tropical storm; infrastructural and geological effects were comparable to those from Hurricane Agnes several years prior.

Shortly thereafter, a reconnaissance aircraft found a center of circulation 575 miles (925 km) east of the Virgin Islands, and it is estimated that the storm became a tropical depression at 0600 UTC.

While in the vicinity of a strengthening anticyclone aloft, Eloise became better organized, and the storm rapidly intensified and reached Category 1 hurricane status 18 hours after being named.

[1] The cyclone emerged over the open waters of the northern Caribbean on September 19, passing Jamaica to the north as it moved away from Cuba.

The trough enhanced the wind divergence over the storm's center,[1] allowing it to strengthen once again to reach hurricane force about 345 miles (555 km) south of New Orleans, Louisiana.

[1] Hurricane Eloise continued to strengthen until it reached its peak winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of about 955 mbar (hPa; 28.2 inHg).

[1][2] In advance of Hurricane Eloise, warnings for heavy rainfall and potential flooding were issued for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

[1] During the morning hours of September 23, civil preparedness workers drove through coastal towns with loudspeakers advising people to seek shelter.

[5] A statement issued by the National Weather Service advised people in nine Florida counties to complete hurricane preparations, which included securing loose objects and moving watercraft to safety.

[9] As a weak tropical depression, the storm brought 5 to 10 inches (130 to 250 mm) of rainfall to portions of the Leeward Islands, including St. Kitts and St. Martin.

[1] Despite being only a tropical storm while passing by Puerto Rico, Eloise produced extreme amounts of rainfall on the island, peaking at 33.29 inches (846 mm) in Dos Bocas.

Rain and wind from the storm affected the southern Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and the northern Yucatan Peninsula.

[1] Eloise brought torrential rainfall and winds of 20 mph (32 km/h) to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in southeastern Cuba, inflicting $65,000 in damage.

[10] The heaviest rainfall was usually confined to northwest of the storm's track, and a number of locations to the east of Eloise's center picked up less than 1 inch (25 mm) of rain.

An article in the Tallahassee Democrat reported that "Cottages, motels, restaurants, convenience stores and other beach businesses were strewn across the highway in a tangle of down power poles, lines and busted mains.

The storm destroyed the farm's prospective initial harvest, 1,500,000 pounds (680,000 kg) of shrimp enclosed in a system of nets and enclosures.

The most severe damage was concentrated in a 22 miles (35 km) area of the shore east of the hurricane's eye, and storm surge peaked in intensity for no more than a half hour according to preliminary estimates.

[11] In the storm's aftermath, a study of the hurricane's effect on aquatic animals living in the swash zone (the immediate area where land and the ocean meet) of Panama City Beach was conducted.

[18] The study concluded that compared to 11 consecutive months of data prior to the storm, the swash zone experienced a brief influx of animal species normally found offshore.

[1] Eloise cut power and telephone service in the area,[21] and in Geneva County, several people sustained storm-related injuries.

[23] Gusty winds, moderate to heavy rainfall, and low pressures extended into Georgia, Louisiana, and to a lesser extent, Mississippi.

[25] An instance of a storm-induced fatality is the death of a man in White Plains, New York, who was killed by waters raging across the Hutchinson River Parkway.

[32] After touring the disaster area, Florida Governor Reubin Askew noted, "I think we're going to have to take a long, close look at some of the construction [...] Some of the structures simply won't be able to be built back in the exact location where they were.

[34] Immediately following the storm, the mayor of Panama City criticized the state of Florida for failing to provide sufficient post-storm aid.

[35] Despite the destruction, the storm reportedly had some economic benefits; in the midst of rebuilding and recovery, business grew, especially in and around Panama City, and people began to move into the area.

[40][41] Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Ernest Kline assigned 600 National Guardsmen to assist in the evacuation of flood victims and maintain security in storm-ravaged areas.

[42] Over $430 million in federal disaster relief was spent overall in 1975 and distributed to 92,000 families; the bulk of the funds went to recovery for areas affected by Hurricane Eloise along its entire course.