A disturbance in the extreme western Caribbean formed on July 3rd and moved northwest over the Yucatan Peninsula, bringing a stormy few days to Cancun and Cozumel. The storm emerged into the south-central Gulf of Mexico on July 4th.

It didn't take long once over the warm Gulf waters for this tropical depression to become the third named storm of the season. Early on July 5th the system made a northward turn and was named Cindy as wind speeds increased.

As with all tropical systems, warm waters are needed to sustain the storm, in addition to favorable winds aloft. The environment over the Gulf of Mexico was hostile for Cindy's development in early July, with enough wind shear present to keep it from growing into a hurricane.

During the last hours before landfall on July 6th, Cindy met an area with little to no wind shear. The result was a brief intensification just prior to landfall, with maximum winds reaching 70 MPH. Cindy made landfall just southwest of Grand Isle, Louisiana.

The storm passed over New Orleans with heavy rain, wind, and flooding. Up to 3" fell in the New Orleans vicinity with nearly 6" in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Winds at the Lakefront Airport in New Orleans were clocked over tropical storm force for nearly 6 hours, with a peak gust of 70 MPH at 1:16 AM local time on July 6th.

There was considerable tree and foliage damage across southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi, with power outages to over a quarter-million citizens.

The system fell apart over central Alabama on July 7th.