By July 5, the storm produced a small but distinct cyclonic circulation around several hundred miles south of the Cape Verde Islands.

[2] At around 12:00 UTC on July 7, the wave had strengthened into a tropical storm, and was named Chantal by the National Hurricane Center while having winds of 40 mph (64 km/h) and a pressure of 1,008 mbar (29.8 inHg).

Chantal then rapidly moved to the south of a strong subtropical ridge, exposing the northern or north-eastern side of the center because of wind shear.

However, aircraft data and surface observations indicated that the storm reached a peak intensity of 65 mph (105 km/h) and a pressure of 1,003 mbar (29.6 inHg) as it passed just south of Martinique.

[5] Deep convection later diminished, especially north and east of the center, however, the storm started to re-develop just prior to 12:00 UTC on July 10.

Despite this, the cloud pattern was still disorganized, and the storm degenerated into an open wave as it continued to move closer to Hispaniola late that morning.

[6] The remnants then moved north-west over eastern Cuba, before tracking over the south, central, and northern Bahamas on July 12.

Nearby, in Cabo Rojo, crews cleared branches and debris out of storm drains to stop blockages and flooding.