[5] The system continued to organize and strengthened into Tropical Storm Lane early on September 14 about 90 miles (140 km) off the coast of Mexico.

[6] Lane continued to become better organized, with deep convection developing into a central dense overcast and well-defined outflow in the western half of the storm.

[8] Lane continued to strengthen as it turned more to the north-northwest, a motion caused due to the storm moving around the western periphery of a mid-level ridge over Mexico.

[9] Based on reports from Reconnaissance Aircraft, Lane was upgraded to hurricane status on September 15, about 40 miles (64 km) west-northwest of Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco.

[12] Hurricane Lane continued to organize with its 9-mile (14 km) wide eye, surrounded by very deep convection, and the storm strengthened further to reach peak winds of 125 mph (201 km/h) by midday on September 16.

[13] It turned unexpectedly to the northeast, and at 1915 UTC on the September 16, Hurricane Lane made landfall in a sparsely populated region of Sinaloa, 20 miles (32 km) southeast of El Dorado.

[19] Due to Lane's projected path near the western coast of Mexico, authorities closed ports to small boats in the cities of Acapulco.

[20] Just weeks after Hurricane John took a similar path through the area, several tourists voluntarily left their vacations to fly home.

[24] As Lane came closer to the coastline, all the seaports between Michoacán and Sinaloa were closed, and the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (Mexico) (National Meteorological Service, in Spanish) warned the general population about the threat of flooding and landslides.

[15] Prior to entering the area, the U.S. National Weather Service issued a Flood Watch for large portions of Texas due to the remnants of Lane.

[19] In Acapulco, the storm produced strong waves and heavy rain, leaving coastal streets with up to 16 inches (410 mm) of water.

[28] In El Dorado, Sinaloa, near where the storm made landfall, the hurricane washed out away roads and destroyed many flimsy homes.

[27] In Mazatlán, to the southeast of where Lane moved ashore, the hurricane produced strong winds and heavy rains, causing street flooding and power outages.

The hurricane also damaged water treatment facilities and distribution systems in multiple communities, prompting the Secretariat of Health to declare a sanitary alert in Sinaloa.