The depression gradually strengthened and became Tropical Storm Danielle only hours before landfall in eastern Texas on September 5.

Organization continued and it is estimated that Tropical Depression Eight at 1800 UTC on September 4, while located about 120 miles (190 km) south of New Orleans, Louisiana.

[2] At 1700 UTC on September 5, the National Hurricane Center upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Danielle, based on observations from reconnaissance aircraft and an oil rig.

[7] The oil rig, which was location near the coast of Louisiana, reported winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 1,004 mbar (29.6 inHg); this would later be considered the peak intensity of Danielle.

[2] As the storm was approaching, the National Weather Service issued flash flood watches from Freeport to Sabine Pass, Texas.

[11] The heavy rainfall resulted in considerable flash flooding in eastern Texas, causing residents to evacuate their homes.

[12] Because there were numerous inundated streets, police barricaded roads in Beaumont, Bridge City, Orange, Vidor, and Port Arthur.

[14] In Port Arthur, twelve homes were reported flooded;[9] one house in the Lakeview neighborhood had 1 foot (0.30 m) of water inside.

[1] A third fatality from the storm occurred when a fisherman's boat on Sabine Lake capsized, causing the man to die of a heart attack during rescue.

[17] Danielle spawned several tornadoes in the state of Texas, one of which caused an estimated $1,500 (1980 USD) in damage to a storage barn in Galveston County on the Bolivar Peninsula.

[9][22] In the Gulf of Mexico, rough seas from Danielle caused a maintenance barge to capsize, washing all 11 crewmen overboard.

Additionally, the storm also caused a United States Coast Guard helicopter to crash into the sea due to high winds and lack of fuel, though all twelve crewmen survived.