This was the fourth tropical system and the third hurricane to form in the Atlantic Basin during the 1947 season. This was a classic Cape Verde storm and unlike most intense hurricanes, featured a slow, even rise in strength from Tropical Storm status to Category 5 strength with little fluctuation in intensity.

First detected as a Tropical Storm on September 4, by September 16 the Category 5 hurricane was skirting over the northern portion of Abaco Island in the Bahamas. As the storm passed over the Gulf Stream, it lost some strength and struck the coast of Florida as a Category 4 storm near Pompano Beach on September 17.

Until Hurricane Andrew in 1992, this storm held the Florida record for the highest observed wind speed (155 mph (250 km/h)) measured at the Hillsboro lighthouse. The barometric pressure at landfall was 27.97 inches (940 mb). The hurricane caused storm surges of 21.6 feet (6.6 m) and 20.9 feet (6.4 m) at Clewiston and Moore Haven, respectively.

This was a large storm, with hurricane force winds extending along the Florida east coast from Cape Canaveral (150 miles (241 km)) to the north all the way to Coral Gables (90 miles (145 km)) to the south. The storm proceeded due west across the peninsula, exiting over Sanibel island and made a second landfall as a Category 1 hurricane just east of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Fortunately, improved building codes and heightened hurricane safety awareness limited the loss of life in Florida and Louisiana to 52. This storm stands as the fourteenth most powerful hurricane to ever strike the U.S. Analysts suggest that this hurricane could cause as much as $8 billion in property damage if it struck today.