Tropical Storm Cindy (1993) - Meteorological History

Meteorological History

The origins of Tropical Storm Cindy can be traced to a tropical wave that departed the western coast of Africa on August 8, 1993. Over the following days, the wave tracked steadily west-northwestward across the tropical Atlantic while retaining a distinct cloud pattern on satellite images. Although initial data from a reconnaissance aircraft mission on August 13 indicated that the system lacked a defined wind circulation, a second mission at 1200 UTC the next day revealed an improvement in its structure at the lower levels of the atmosphere. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) thus classified the system as a tropical depression—a tropical cyclone with sustained winds of less than 39 mph (62 km/h)—and initiated public advisories on it soon thereafter.

Steered by mid- to low-level flow, the depression decreased in forward speed and continued west-northwest toward Martinique. Satellite images showed the development of a central dense overcast, and reconnaissance soon revealed that wind speeds near the center had increased to gale force. Based on this, the NHC upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Cindy at 1800 UTC on August 14, at which time the cyclone was located over Martinique with winds of 40 mph (65 km). Although Cindy briefly developed favorable outflow, its upper-level structure debilitated after it moved away from the Lesser Antilles, preventing further development. Over the course of August 15, Cindy's cloud pattern remained disorganized due to unfavorable wind shear; its center became ill defined, with the strongest thunderstorms confined to the eastern portion of the cyclone. Despite the unfavorable conditions, the storm managed to strengthen marginally on August 16, attaining its peak intensity with winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 1007 mbar (hPa; 29.74 inHg), roughly 85 mi (140 km) southeast of Santo Domingo.

Shortly after peaking in intensity, Cindy began to interact with the mountains of Hispaniola. The high terrain disrupted its circulation, which caused it to weaken to a tropical depression around 2100 UTC on August 16. The depression made landfall near Barahona, Dominican Republic, with winds of 35 mph (55 km/h); it became increasingly disorganized over land, prompting the NHC to declassify it as a tropical cyclone on August 17. The remnants proceeded inland near the border with Haiti and emerged into the Atlantic, where they spread across the Bahamas before dissolving the next day.