Moving northwestward, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Esther on September 11, before reaching hurricane intensity on the following day.

Between North Carolina and New Jersey, effects were primarily limited to strong winds and minor beach erosion and coastal flooding due to storm surge.

[3] By September 13, the storm attained major hurricane status, which is a Category 3 on the current-day Saffir-Simpson scale with sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h).

[1] After maintaining winds of 125 mph (201 km/h) for about two days, Esther weakened slightly on September 16 while passing well north of the Lesser Antilles.

Late on September 17, the barometric pressure fell to 927 mbar (92.7 kPa; 27.4 inHg) in the center of Esther, and operationally the Hurricane Hunters estimated winds of 150 mph (240 km/h).

On September 20, the hurricane passed about 120 mi (193 km) east of Cape Hatteras while turning to the north-northeast while gradually weakening.

[1] Another trough from the west steered Esther to the northeast and was expected to cause the storm to accelerate,[3] potentially bringing it over Cape Cod.

[3] As a result, the Boston Weather Bureau reissued advisories on the storm on September 25 while Esther was 275 mi (443 km) south of Nantucket.

[1] The storm crossed over eastern Cape Cod while gradually weakening,[2] making a final landfall near Rockland, Maine, on September 26.

[1] In Norfolk, Virginia, between 10,000 and 15,000 people were evacuated to emergency shelters on September 19, but were able to return home the next day as Esther passed far to the east.

[7] Naval ships and aircraft carriers based in the city headed for open waters to endure the storm, while over 200 military airplanes were flown inland away from the coast.

[8] A powerful hurricane, Esther produced high waves and strong swells across much of the western Atlantic, including along the north coast of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas.

The storm surge caused minor flooding and beach erosion in the Outer Banks,[7] where road damage was extensive.

[13] Damage to property, however, was minimal, and the storm's effects in the Wilmington area were compared to those of "a good nor'easter" by the local weather bureau.

Wind gusts up to 108 mph (174 km/h) felled trees and power lines, leaving over 300,000 homes without electricity; minor structure damage was also reported.

[15] Downed power lines and minor flooding due to rainfall amounts of up to 7 in (178 mm) also caused public transportation delays on Long Island.

In south-central and northeastern Maine, precipitation totals between 2 and 4 in (51 and 102 mm) flooded basements, underpasses, and low-lying roads, resulting in traffic being delayed by detours.

[15] Despite gale and storm force wind gusts in eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, damage was minimal and consisted mainly of downed trees and isolated power outages.

[citation needed] While over open waters, Esther caused seven indirect deaths when a United States Navy P5M aircraft crashed about 120 miles (193 km) north of Bermuda.

[17] The survivors told Coast Guard officials that during the storm, one of the engines of the plane failed, along with most of the electrical power; as a result, the crew was unable to drop the reserve tank or close the bomb bay doors automatically.

On September 16, a Navy plane flew into the eye of Esther about 400 miles (644 km) northeast of Puerto Rico, and dropped canisters of silver iodide into the storm.