NHC designated the system as Tropical Storm Fabian. although the NHC later assessed that the system developed as a tropical depression earlier that day. With a high pressure area to the north, there was already a large pressure gradient that had produced tropical storm force winds over the area. Initially the storm was disorganized, with its strongest winds located primarily east of the center. An eastward-moving upper-level trough imparted a northeast motion as well as unfavorable wind shear. After reaching peak winds of , Fabian crossed the Isle of Youth before crossing western Cuba. By early on October 16, the center was becoming difficult to locate as Fabian moved through the Florida Straits. The storm later moved through the Bahamas and became extratropical as it interacted with an approaching front. When Fabian first formed, the government of Cuba issued a tropical storm warning from Havana to Ciego de Ávila Province, as well as the Isle of Youth. There was also a tropical storm watch for the Florida Keys, as well as a tropical storm warning for the Bahamas. Before the storm hit the Cuban mainland, it produced wind gusts to in Cayo Largo del Sur. Its primary form of impact was from heavy rainfall in a 24‑hour period, peaking at in Caonao on the south coast of Cuba. In a six-hour period, Punta del Este recorded . Prior to the storm's passage, two state parks were closed in the Florida Keys, and a few storm shelters were opened in Dade County. As it passed east of the state, it dropped rainfall near the coast that peaked at in Conch Key. In the Florida Keys, the National Weather Service Office in Key West recorded sustained winds of with gusts to . Only isolated flooding happened from the precursor system to Fabian. In South Florida, Homestead Air Force Base reported rainfall of , but this too was attributed to the precursor frontal system, rather than Fabian itself. Tropical Depression Ten A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on October 19. Moving westward, it developed a weak circulation on October 23. Despite the presence of strong shear, the system was upgraded to a tropical depression at 2200 UTC on October 24 about east of the Lesser Antilles. This was based on a rating of 1.5 on the Dvorak technique, which is a method of estimating the intensity of tropical cyclones via