On September 2, the depression organized significantly. Based on a reconnaissance aircraft flight and satellite imagery, it is estimated that the cyclone intensified into Tropical Storm Debby around 06:00 UTC. Later that day, another reconnaissance flight observed sustained winds of at and at the surface of the storm. At 18:00 UTC on September 2, Debby became a Category 1 hurricane while centered only about offshore Mexico. Six hours later, Debby made landfall about south of Tuxpan, Veracruz, with winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) – the highest sustained wind speed associated with the storm. Debby was the first hurricane to strike the state of Veracruz since Hurricane Anna in 1956. Additionally, Debby simultaneously attained its minimum barometric pressure of . The hurricane rapidly weakened over the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains of Mexico, weakening to a tropical storm by 06:00 UTC on September 3 and falling to tropical depression intensity about 12 hours later. However, the circulation managed to remain intact and reached the Pacific Ocean between Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta on September 5.