Tropical Storm Cristobal was a strong tropical storm that paralleled the East Coast of the United States, traveling from Florida to Nova Scotia. The third named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, Cristobal formed on July 19 from a trough of low pressure off the Southeast U.S. Coast. In a marginally favorable environment, it attained minimal tropical storm status later that day. The storm remained offshore, and peaked as a strong tropical storm on July 21 while it passed east of Cape Hatteras. It accelerated northeast parallel to the East Coast and became extratropical on July 23 near Nova Scotia. Because it was a weak storm and never made landfall, Cristobal's effects were mostly limited to moderate rainfall. The storm dropped 3.43 in (87 mm) of rain in Wilmington, North Carolina, where minor flooding was reported. Additionally, the extratropical remnants contributed to rainfall on Nova Scotia which caused some street and basement flooding. Meteorological history On July 14, 2008 a weakening surface trough extended across northern Florida, producing thunderstorms across the state. A weak low pressure area developed on July 15 near Tallahassee, which moved southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. Late on July 16 it crossed onshore near Tampa, and development was not anticipated due to land interaction. Late on July 17, however, convection increased in association with the low, and the system quickly became better organized. Late on July 18, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) remarked that a tropical depression was developing, with its convection becoming more concentrated around a circulation; at 11 p.m. EST on July 18 (0300 UTC July 19), it was classified as Tropical Depression Three, about 65 miles (105 km) southeast of Charleston, South Carolina. Located between a ridge to its southeast and northwest, the depression moved slowly northeastward, and with a marginally favorable upper-level environment, it attained minimal tropical storm status during the early afternoon of July 19. Initially fairly disorganized with little deep convection, dry air in the mid- to-upper-levels of the atmosphere prevented immediate intensification. However, late on July 20 thunderstorm activity increased. Cristobal remained a fairly weak tropical storm as it tracked adjacent to the Carolina coast, and the storm never made landfall. It reached peak intensity as a strong tropical storm on July 21 while it passed east of Cape Hatteras, and remained such over the warm Gulf Stream waters as convection became strong over the southern portion