page_title: Tropical Storm Grace (2003)
section_title: Meteorological history
hierarchical_section_title: Tropical Storm Grace (2003) / Meteorological history
caption_attribution_description: English: Track map of Tropical Storm Grace of the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. The points show the location of the storm at 6-hour intervals. The colour represents the storm's maximum sustained wind speeds as classified in the Saffir–Simpson scale (see below), and the shape of the data points represent the nature of the storm, according to the legend below. Saffir–Simpson scale Tropical depression≤38 mph≤62 km/h Category 3111–129 mph178–208 km/h Tropical storm39–73 mph63–118 km/h Category 4130–156 mph209–251 km/h Category 174–95 mph119–153 km/h Category 5≥157 mph≥252 km/h Category 296–110 mph154–177 km/h Unknown Storm type Tropical cyclone Subtropical cyclone Extratropical cyclone / Remnant low / Tropical disturbance / Monsoon depression
context_page_description: Tropical Storm Grace was a weak tropical storm that struck Texas in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. The eleventh tropical depression and the seventh tropical storm of the season, Grace was also the weakest storm of the season. On August 30 the storm developed from a long-track tropical wave in the western Gulf of Mexico. Grace remained disorganized throughout its lifetime due to an upper level low to its west. The weak storm moved northwestward and made landfall on southeastern Texas. Grace quickly weakened over land, and dissipated on September 2 as it merged into a cold front.
  In Texas, the storm dropped heavy rainfall, causing minor flash flooding damage. The cold front, combined with the remnants of the storm, dropped moderate to heavy rainfall from Texas through the Mid-Atlantic. The worst of the flooding occurred in Indianapolis, where record rainfall affected over 700 homes. Despite the rainfall, damage was minimal along its path.
context_section_description: A strong tropical wave accompanied with a low pressure system moved off the coast of Africa on August 19. It moved quickly westward and organized, developing banding features and cirrus outflow near the blossoming convection. The wave nearly developed into a tropical cyclone on August 21, though its fast forward motion dislocated the low level circulation from the deep convection. The wave entered an area of dry air in the central Atlantic Ocean, and by late on August 22 most of the convection dissipated from the system. On August 24, convection increased as the wave passed through the Lesser Antilles, though strong southwesterly upper level wind shear prevented further development. The tropical wave moved through the Caribbean Sea, and developed deep convection due to more favorable conditions over the Gulf of Honduras on August 28. The wave crossed the Yucatán Peninsula, and developed a surface low pressure area on the 29th in the Gulf of Mexico. Convection continued to organize, and the tropical wave developed into Tropical Depression Eleven on August 30 while located 335 miles (540 km) east-southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas.
  The depression moved to the northwest, and intensified into Tropical Storm Grace six hours after forming. Despite the increase in winds the center of circulation remained very broad, with Reconnaissance Aircraft having difficulty pinpointing the center. In addition, an upper level low located over Brownsville, Texas produced shear over the western portion of the system, which limited outflow to the east side. Forecasters predicted the upper level low to weaken, allowing for the possibility of Grace to intensify to a 65 mph (100 km/h) tropical storm over warm waters. However, the upper level low remained in place and continued to produce shear across the system. A new center of circulation reformed 115 miles (185 km) north of the original center, and made landfall near San Luis Pass on the southwestern portion of Galveston Island on August 31 as a minimal tropical storm. Grace quickly weakened to a tropical depression over land, and after turning northeastward into Oklahoma the depression was absorbed by a cold front.
caption: Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
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