The system is believed to have started as a tropical wave moving off the western coast of Africa.
This was because of the limited observational methods available to contemporary meteorologists, with ship reports being the only reliable tool for observing hurricanes.
The first formal sighting of the tropical storm occurred on August 27, about 1,000 mi (1,600 km) east of the Windward Islands, when a ship encountered an area of unsettled weather.
Over the next couple of days, the system moved west-northwestwards and is thought to have maintained its intensity as a weak tropical storm, before it passed through the Leeward Islands and into the Caribbean Sea during August 31.

On September 1, Father Lorenzo Gangoite, the director of the Belen College Observatory in Havana, Cuba, noted that the storm was in its formative stages, with only vague indications of a small tropical cyclone to the southwest of Saint Croix.
During that day, the system passed to the south of Puerto Rico before it made landfall near Baní, Dominican Republic, early on September 2.
Moving west-northwestward, the storm crossed the island of Hispaniola and entered into the Windward Passage near Saint-Marc, Haiti, several hours later.
The system made landfall on Cuba near Santiago de Cuba during September 3, before it moved slowly west-northwestward across the island and emerged into Straits of Florida as a tropical storm on September 5.
As the system emerged into the Straits of Florida, Gangoite observed a large, persistent halo around the moon, while the sky turned deep red and cirrus clouds moved northwards.
This indicated to him that the tropical storm had intensified and that the prevailing winds were moving the system towards the coast of Texas.
However, the United States Weather Bureau disagreed with this forecast, as they expected the system to recurve and make landfall in Florida before impacting the American East Coast.
An area of high pressure over the Florida Keys ultimately moved the system northwestward into the Gulf of Mexico, where favorable conditions such as warm sea surface temperatures allowed the storm to intensify into a hurricane.

In the eastern Gulf of Mexico on September 6, the ship Louisiana encountered the hurricane, whose captain, T. P. Halsey, estimated that the system had wind speeds of 100 mph (160 km/h).
The hurricane continued to strengthen significantly while heading west-northwestward across the Gulf of Mexico.
On September 7, the system reached its peak intensity with estimated sustained wind speeds of 145 mph (230 km/h), which made it equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane on the modern day Saffir–Simpson scale.
That day, the Weather Bureau realized that the storm was continuing west-northwestward across the Gulf of Mexico, rather than turning northward over Florida and the East Coast of the United States.
However, Weather Bureau director Willis Moore insisted that the cyclone was not of hurricane intensity.
The hurricane weakened slightly on September 8 and recurved to the northwest as it approached the coast of Texas, while the Weather Bureau office in Galveston began observing hurricane-force winds by 22:00 UTC.

The cyclone made landfall around 8:00 p.m CST on September 8 (02:00 UTC on September 9) to the south of Houston as a Category 4 hurricane.
While crossing Galveston Island and West Bay, the eye passed southwest of the city of Galveston.
The hurricane quickly weakened after moving inland, falling to tropical storm intensity late on September 9.
The storm lost tropical characteristics and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone over Iowa by 12:00 UTC on September 11.
Moving rapidly east-northeastward, the extratropical system re-intensified, becoming the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane over Ontario on September 12.
The extratropical remnants reached the Gulf of Saint Lawrence early the following day.
After crossing Newfoundland and entering the far northern Atlantic hours later, the remnants of the hurricane weakened and were last noted near Iceland on September 15.
The system is believed to have started as a tropical wave moving off the western coast of Africa. This was because of the limited observational methods available to contemporary meteorologists, with ship reports being the only reliable tool for observing hurricanes. The first formal sighting of the tropical storm occurred on August 27, about 1,000 mi (1,600 km) east of the Windward Islands, when a ship encountered an area of unsettled weather. Over the next couple of days, the system moved west-northwestwards and is thought to have maintained its intensity as a weak tropical storm, before it passed through the Leeward Islands and into the Caribbean Sea during August 31.
On September 1, Father Lorenzo Gangoite, the director of the Belen College Observatory in Havana, Cuba, noted that the storm was in its formative stages, with only vague indications of a small tropical cyclone to the southwest of Saint Croix. During that day, the system passed to the south of Puerto Rico before it made landfall near Baní, Dominican Republic, early on September 2. Moving west-northwestward, the storm crossed the island of Hispaniola and entered into the Windward Passage near Saint-Marc, Haiti, several hours later. The system made landfall on Cuba near Santiago de Cuba during September 3, before it moved slowly west-northwestward across the island and emerged into Straits of Florida as a tropical storm on September 5. As the system emerged into the Straits of Florida, Gangoite observed a large, persistent halo around the moon, while the sky turned deep red and cirrus clouds moved northwards. This indicated to him that the tropical storm had intensified and that the prevailing winds were moving the system towards the coast of Texas. However, the United States Weather Bureau disagreed with this forecast, as they expected the system to recurve and make landfall in Florida before impacting the American East Coast. An area of high pressure over the Florida Keys ultimately moved the system northwestward into the Gulf of Mexico, where favorable conditions such as warm sea surface temperatures allowed the storm to intensify into a hurricane.
In the eastern Gulf of Mexico on September 6, the ship Louisiana encountered the hurricane, whose captain, T. P. Halsey, estimated that the system had wind speeds of 100 mph (160 km/h). The hurricane continued to strengthen significantly while heading west-northwestward across the Gulf of Mexico. On September 7, the system reached its peak intensity with estimated sustained wind speeds of 145 mph (230 km/h), which made it equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane on the modern day Saffir–Simpson scale. That day, the Weather Bureau realized that the storm was continuing west-northwestward across the Gulf of Mexico, rather than turning northward over Florida and the East Coast of the United States. However, Weather Bureau director Willis Moore insisted that the cyclone was not of hurricane intensity. The hurricane weakened slightly on September 8 and recurved to the northwest as it approached the coast of Texas, while the Weather Bureau office in Galveston began observing hurricane-force winds by 22:00 UTC.
The cyclone made landfall around 8:00 p.m CST on September 8 (02:00 UTC on September 9) to the south of Houston as a Category 4 hurricane. While crossing Galveston Island and West Bay, the eye passed southwest of the city of Galveston. The hurricane quickly weakened after moving inland, falling to tropical storm intensity late on September 9. The storm lost tropical characteristics and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone over Iowa by 12:00 UTC on September 11. Moving rapidly east-northeastward, the extratropical system re-intensified, becoming the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane over Ontario on September 12. The extratropical remnants reached the Gulf of Saint Lawrence early the following day. After crossing Newfoundland and entering the far northern Atlantic hours later, the remnants of the hurricane weakened and were last noted near Iceland on September 15.
1900 Galveston hurricane