The system weakened over the state, briefly emerging into the northeastern Gulf of Mexico before making a final landfall at the mouth of the Aucilla River in Florida on the afternoon of September 6, with winds of 60 mph (97 km/h).

An attendant frontal boundary, originally positioned offshore on September 5, lifted northward across the region over subsequent days.

Along the east-to-west-oriented boundary, low to moderate convective available potential energy, plentiful moisture, and strong low-level wind shear culminated in the development of several long-lived supercell thunderstorms within the outer rainbands of Frances.

These supercells resulted in numerous tornadoes, including 45 in South Carolina on September 7 alone, setting a new daily record in the state previously held by 1994's Tropical Storm Beryl.

[11][12] Frances also spawned 14 tornadoes in Virginia, tying Hurricane Gaston from the same year as the fifth-most-prolific producer in the state.