Cindy remained nearly stationary for almost a day, dropping copious rainfall over the Texas coastal plain, before finally turning west-southwestward and dissipating west of Corpus Christi on 20 September.

Hurricane watches and warnings were issued prior to Cindy's landfall, hastening evacuations in coastal areas of Louisiana and Texas, with many refugees seeking safety in local shelters.

Although tide and wind damage was minimal, extreme rainfall totaling upwards of 23.50 in (597 mm) resulted in severe flooding in many areas of the Texas coastal plain; 4,000 homes were inundated in Jefferson, Orange, and Newton counties, many of them after a levee ruptured in Port Acres.

[nb 1] The origins of Cindy can be traced to a low-pressure area which formed within a trough positioned approximately 200 mi (320 km) east-northeast of Brownsville, Texas on 16 September, though inclement weather had been reported in the Gulf of Mexico the previous two days.

[2] Upon Cindy's landfall at High Island the following morning, its atmospheric pressure was measured at 996 mbar (hPa; 29.41 inHg),[1] and winds reached 75 mph (120 km/h).

[8] A state of emergency was declared in the city of Lake Charles, Louisiana, where officials prepared to feed up to 10,000 refugees as the Salvation Army and other relief agencies' volunteers were deployed to the region.

[7] One shrimp boat was initially reported missing and the tug Myra White transmitted a distress signal as its engines failed near an oil rig off of Galveston.

[8] Powerful gusts downed branches, electrical poles, and tore off shingles in Port Arthur and Galveston, but damage was minimal at High Island, where Cindy made landfall.

[10] Trucks and boats were dispatched by civil defense officials in Jefferson County after declaring a state of emergency following numerous requests for assistance by residents of flooded homes.

[6] Two men left stranded on a burning fishing boat 50 mi (80 km) off of Morgan City, Louisiana were later rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard without issue.