The storm intensified while moving generally northward or northwestward, peaking with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 km/h) later that day.

On September 1, Lidia made landfall in Mexico near Puerto Chale, Baja California Sur, at peak intensity.

[2] An elongated trough of low pressure formed by late on August 27 and was initially composed of disorganized showers and thunderstorms.

[3] After environmental conditions became more favorable and the storm organized significantly – but still lacked a well-defined center – the NHC began classifying the low-pressure area as Potential Tropical Cyclone Fourteen-E at 21:00 UTC on August 29.

[5][6] After data from an unmanned NASA Global Hawk and observation stations indicated that the broad circulation became more consolidated,[7] the NHC initiated advisories on Tropical Storm Lidia at 18:00 UTC on August 30 about 315 mi (507 km) south-southeast of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula.

Favorable conditions such as warm sea surface temperatures and low wind shear allowed Lidia to intensify,[7][1] and by 00:00 UTC on September 1, the storm peaked with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 km/h) and a minimum atmospheric pressure of 986 mbar (986 hPa; 29.1 inHg), which was based on Dvorak estimates with the hints of an eye feature.

[1][8] Around 12:00 UTC on the following day, Lidia made landfall near Punta Marquez, Baja California Sur, with winds of 60 mph (97 km/h).

The cyclone weakened significantly while traversing the mountainous terrain of the Baja California Peninsula, and by early on September 2, deep convection was mainly limited to a few strong clusters near the center.

In Cuautitlán Izcalli, about 300 people were evacuated after the El Ángulo dam collapsed, with water entering hundreds of dwellings, while many other homes were flooded with sewage in Ecatepec de Morelos after a canal overflowed.