The origins of the hurricane were from a tropical wave that possibly spawned a tropical depression on August 27 , although there was minimal data over the next few days as it tracked to the west @-@ northwest . On August 31 , a nearby ship reported gale force winds , which indicated that a tropical storm had developed to the east @-@ northeast of the Lesser Antilles . Based on continuity , it is estimated the storm attained hurricane status later that day . Moving quickly to the west @-@ northwest , the storm passed north of the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico . Early on September 2 , a ship called the Gulfwing reported a barometric pressure of 978 mbar ( 28 @.@ 88 inHg ) , which confirmed that the storm attained hurricane status . After passing north of the Turks and Caicos islands , the hurricane struck Eleuthera and Harbour Island in the Bahamas on September 3 , the latter at 1100 UTC . A station on the latter island reported a pressure of 27 @.@ 90 inHg ( 945 mb ) during the 30 minute passage of the eye . Based on the pressure and the small size of the storm , it is estimated the hurricane struck Harbour Island with peak winds of 140 mph ( 225 km / h ) , making it the equivalent of a modern Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir @-@ Simpson scale . Interpolation suggested that the storm reached major hurricane status , or Category 3 status , on September 2 .