and by September 12, the storm reached an intensity equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Later that day, the cyclone strengthened further into a Category 4-equivalent and was given the moniker of "Great Atlantic hurricane" by the Weather Bureau in Miami, Florida. Concurrently, the tropical cyclone began to curve and accelerate towards the north. At 06:00 UTC on September 13, the hurricane reached its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of ,, and five hours later, a ship in the eye documented a minimum barometric pressure of 919 mbar (hPa; 27.14 inHg) alongside winds, suggesting a central pressure of . The storm's pressure may have been lower during its lifespan, though the pressure suggested by meteorologist Ivan Ray Tannehill was considered too low. The hurricane began to gradually weaken after reaching peak intensity on September 13. In the morning hours of September 14, the storm passed just east of Cape Hatteras and eastern Virginia as a small but powerful hurricane with winds of . Afterwards, the cyclone curved slightly further towards the northeast and continued to accelerate; at 02:00 UTC on September 15, the hurricane made landfall near Southampton in eastern Long Island with winds of . The storm then crossed the island and Long Island Sound before making a second landfall two hours later near Point Judith, Rhode Island as a slightly weaker storm with winds of . After crossing Rhode Island and Massachusetts, the tropical system transitioned into an extratropical cyclone off the coast of Maine on September 15; these extratropical remnants continued to track towards the northeast and across the Canadian Maritimes before they were last noted merging with another extratropical cyclone off of Greenland at 12:00 UTC on September 16. Preparations Upon being designated a tropical cyclone, the Weather Bureau began advising extreme caution to shipping within the expected path of the hurricane. Precaution was also urged in the eastern Bahamas. The first hurricane warning issued by the Weather Bureau in association with the storm was for the northern Bahamas on September 12. In Miami, Florida, the American Red Cross began preparing its resources for a potential regional calamity; however, the Weather Bureau did not necessarily anticipate the storm striking Miami. Royal Air Force aircraft stationed in Nassau were flown to Miami in order to avoid the storm. Although tropical cyclone naming was not in practice at the time,