Original: Although still listed as a "Tropical Storm" by the weather service at the time, many laypeople in New Orleans were under the impression that Cindy was a hurricane, and referred to it as "Hurricane Cindy" before it was officially upgraded.
Simplified: Although at the time, Cindy was still listed as a "Tropical Storm" by the weather service, many in New Orleans thought that Cindy was a hurricane, and referred to it as "Hurricane Cindy" before it was officially upgraded.