First forming on September 14, 1984 west of the Mexican coast, Norbert gradually intensified, reaching hurricane intensity two days after formation.

Meanwhile, a deep layer ridge over the Rocky Mountains was replaced by an upper-level trough, which extended south of Cabo San Lucas.

[1] On September 24, while located 300 mi (480 km) south-southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Norbert re-intensified into a Category 4 hurricane for the fourth time.

Another aircraft reconnaissance flew into the hurricane[1] and observed that the heaviest precipitation was located on the eastern semicircle[3] and that the storm's windfield was asymmetrical.

[1] According to the National Weather Service office in Tucson, surface and satellite observations suggested that Norbert survived as a tropical depression over into Arizona.

[6] Due to the storm's large circulation, authorities in Mazaltan issued weather alerts to warn shipping "to exercise extreme caution" from Jalisco to Baja California Sur.

[8] Under the anticipation of heavy rains in Arizona, flash flood watches were hoisted across several counties and some school districts near Tucson released students early owing to those concerns.

[11][12] In the small fishing communities of Punta Abreojos and La Bocana along the coastline, 90% of structures were demolished, which resulted in 4,000 homeless individuals.

[10]: 2  As a result of Norbert and a combination of other storms that hit the country in 1984, crop losses were estimated at US$60 million,[13][nb 1] mostly from corn, beans, wheat, rice and sorghum.