The first hurricane watches or warnings issued by the Weather Bureau in association with Hilda were issued on October 1, when the agency issued a hurricane watch for the coast of Louisiana to Mobile, Alabama. This prompted the Texas Department of Public Safety to issue a standby alert for the Texas coast. On October 3, the Weather Bureau upgraded the watch to a hurricane warning, and expanded it to include the entire Texas Coastal Bend eastward to Mobile, Alabama. As Hilda neared the coast, the scope of the warning was narrowed to include only areas of the Louisiana Gulf Coast eastward to Mobile, Alabama and a gale warning for an extent of the United States Gulf Coast from Mobile Bay to Panama City, Florida. By the afternoon of October 4, hurricane warnings were lowered but gale warnings remained in place.