of low atmospheric pressure. By July 4, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) first mentioned the possibility of eventual tropical cyclogenesis from this trough in the northern Gulf of Mexico, which at that time consisted of disorganized convection, or thunderstorms. A smaller-scale low pressure center formed within the disturbance, but before the feature could further consolidate, it moved inland near Panama City, Florida around 06:00 UTC on July 6. Surface and Doppler weather radar observations confirmed the feature had a small 90 nmi radius of 1-minute sustained winds up to 35 mph (55 km/h), characteristic of a tropical cyclone, but was accompanied by a large, disorganized area of thunderstorms and thus, didn't meet the NHC's criteria to be deemed a tropical cyclone. While inland, the NHC assessed a 50% probability that the weather system would become a tropical or subtropical cyclone, which the agency soon raised to a 70% probability. The low moved through Georgia and proceeded to turned eastward under the influence of the southern edge of the mid-latitude westerly winds, crossing over southern South Carolina, before emerging into the Western Atlantic on July 8. On July 9, the thunderstorm activity of the low increased as it moved northeastward, parallel to the coast of North Carolina even as the system experienced a sudden slowing in its forward motion. Late on July 9, United States Air Force hurricane hunters flew into the system and detected a low-level circulation center near the edge of its thunderstorms, which indicated a reformation of the original low-level circulation center, with the development of strong convection just east of Cape Hatteras. Based on the organization of the system, and observations of 45 mph (75 km/h) sustained winds, the NHC initiated advisories on Tropical Storm Fay at 21:00 UTC on July 9. The storm was located over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream and in an area of light to moderate wind shear; these environmental factors favored intensification of the tropical cyclone. The elongated circulation of the developing storm was steered generally northward by a ridge over the western Atlantic Ocean and by an approaching trough from the south. On July 10, Fay strengthened throughout the day, reaching its peak intensity, with 1-minute sustained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of , despite some southwesterly wind shear. This wind shear caused the storm to entrain dry air, which gave it a