No significant change in organization was observed during the next several hours until a burst of convection occurred and satellite estimates indicated that the depression reached tropical storm status at 1200 UTC 18 August. Soon thereafter, convection became disorganized and by the time the reconnaissance plane reached the area, the system had already weakened. In fact, data from the plane suggested that there was no longer a well-defined closed circulation. The wind-shear increased further and in about 24 hours later, Chris was just a swirl of low clouds and the tropical cyclone dissipated. The best track is listed in Table 1 and is plotted in Figure 2 .
Dash line shows the westward propagation of the system center.
Best track positions for Tropical Storm Chris, 17-19 August 2000. These plots include data gathered by aircraft reconnaissance and Dvorak satellite classification estimates. This was the only data which implied that Chris may have reached tropical storm status and it is possible that the Dvorak technique overestimated the intensity. The satellite presentation deteriorated almost immediately and data from a reconnaissance plane about five hours later showed only a very poorly defined circulation and winds no higher than 25 knots. Best track maximum sustained wind speed for Tropical Storm Chris.