Despite land interaction with the Yucatán Peninsula and unfavorably strong wind shear, the system reached an 80% chance of developing in the next 48 hours by early on June 5. It then moved inland over the Yucatán Peninsula, but continued to organize. After entering the Gulf of Mexico, the system developed a well-defined circulation, according to surface data and satellite imagery. Thus, the NHC upgraded it to on Tropical Depression Three at 12:00 UTC on June 5, while located just north of the Yucatán Peninsula. The northward-moving depression was lopsided, with the circulation being well to the west of an elongated band of deep convection. Later that day, after a reconnaissance aircraft observed tropical storm force winds,, the cyclone was upgraded to Tropical Storm Colin at 18:00 UTC. Colin became the earliest third tropical storm in the Atlantic basin, exceeding the previous record set by Tropical Storm Three on June 12, 1887. Despite the intensification, the storm remained poorly organized due to strong wind shear, with the low-level center being indistinguishable on infrared satellite imagery. Early on June 6, data from surface observations, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and a reconnaissance aircraft flight suggested that two small-scale circulations existed. Shortly thereafter, NHC noted that the "satellite presentation of Colin does not resemble that of a classical tropical cyclone", as convection and strong winds were displaced well east of the center, primarily due to wind shear.. The storm began accelerating to the northeast late on June 6 due to a mid- to upper-level trough over the Midwestern United States. Despite this, Colin was able to reach its peak intensity at 00:00 UTC on June 7, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) and a minimum atmospheric pressure of 1001 mbar (29.56 inHg). Two hours later, the cyclone made landfall in Keaton Beach, Florida, at peak intensity. Continuing rapidly northeastward, Colin quickly crossed North Florida and southern Georgia, reaching the Atlantic Ocean before 09:00 UTC. The storm appeared "not very tropical", though large areas of deep convection continued to exist to the east and southeast of the center. At 12:00 UTC on June 7, the system had frontal features and thus transitioned into an extratropical cyclone, just off the Carolinas coast. Upon the development of Colin at 15:00 UTC on June 5, a tropical storm warning was issued on the west coast of Florida from Englewood to Indian Pass.