The seventh named storm of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, Gordon developed from a tropical wave that was first monitored in the Caribbean Sea on August 30.

Gordon reached its peak intensity as a high-end tropical storm late on September 4 before making landfall just east of Pascagoula, Mississippi shortly afterwards.

As the wave neared the eastern Caribbean Sea on August 30, cloud cover and shower activity increased over the northern Lesser Antilles.

After the winds lessened on September 2, the disturbance's convection began to show signs of organization while it was located between eastern Cuba and the central Bahamas.

[3] Subsequently, the system strengthened into a tropical depression around 06:00 UTC on September 3,[nb 1] while located 90 mi (150 km) southeast of Key Largo, Florida.

Gordon made landfall near Tavernier in the Florida Keys at 11:15 UTC on September 3, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km/h).

[1][5] Westerly wind shear temporarily disrupted the core of the system early on September 4; the low-level center was displaced to the southwestern boundary of the convection.

[6] The storm's structure primarily consisted of a compact central dense overcast with banding features over the eastern half of the system as a result of the shear.

[7] Towards the middle of September 4, Gordon began to improve in appearance, developing a band of deep convection near its distinct center; simultaneously, lightning activity increased significantly in the core of the storm.

[8] Gordon reached its peak intensity at 18:00 UTC on September 4 as a high-end tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 km/h), while located approximately 130 mi (215 km) south-southeast of Pascagoula, Mississippi.

[1] The tropical storm's convection continued to organize around its center as it approached the coastline,[9] however, collected surface and radar data indicated that the wind speed remained the same.

Gordon achieved its minimum central pressure of 996 mbar (29.41 inHg) as it made landfall between the Alabama/Mississippi border and Pascagoula around 03:15 UTC on September 5.

After landfall, Gordon quickly deteriorated, weakening into a tropical depression by 12:00 UTC, while located 35 mi (55 km) southeast of Jackson, Mississippi.

The new system traveled northeastward during the next few days, generating torrential rainfall over western Kentucky and the Ohio Valley, before dissipating near northern New York on September 11.

[12][11] Gordon also affected the Florida Panhandle, including the city of Pensacola, where the storm's peak rainfall total of 12.73 in (323.3 mm) was recorded.

Sizable portions of sand and numerous sea turtle nests were washed away by waves that Gordon produced; this left some sections in a barren state.

[16] Algae blooms along the Gulf Coast of Florida spread further northwest to Tampa Bay in the days following Gordon's passage through the area.

[41] Further east, Rochester, New York picked up 1.19 inches (30 mm) of rain,[42] while a Major League Baseball game at PNC Park between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins was postponed.