Tropical Storm Emily was a weak Atlantic tropical cyclone that brought torrential rains to much of the northern Caribbean in 2011. The fifth named storm of the annual hurricane season, Emily developed from a strong but poorly organized tropical wave that traversed the open Atlantic over the last week July. On August 1, it approached the Lesser Antilles and became more consolidated, producing inclement weather over many of the northern islands. Two days later, the disturbance’s wind flow became more cyclonic with a defined center of circulation, which marked the formation of Tropical Storm Emily. The storm remained fairly irregular in structure, though generating strong thunderstorms and gusty winds along its path over the Caribbean Sea. On August 4, Emily was declassified as a tropical cyclone after the mountainous areas of Hispaniola further disrupted its diffuse circulation. Upon exiting the northeastern Caribbean on August 6, its remnants briefly regenerated into a tropical storm before dissipating completely the next day. Despite the erratic structure of its wind flow, Emily brought severe weather to many Caribbean nations. Gusty winds felled trees and heavy rains caused widespread flooding throughout the Lesser Antilles. The most significant damage was confined to Martinique, where one death occurred. In Puerto Rico, flash floods affected residences and roads, leaving behind US$5 million in infrastructural damage. Even after Emily’s dissipation, its remnants continued to produce prolonged rainfall over much of Hispaniola. Floods and mudslides in the Dominican Republic displaced over 7,000 residents and caused three people to drown in the capital of Santo Domingo. In neighboring Haiti, hundreds of houses were inundated in the department of Artibonite, forcing their inhabitants to evacuate. Minor wind damage occurred throughout the country's southern peninsula, and one person died in that region. Meteorological history The cyclogenesis of Tropical Storm Emily was complicated, extending over several days from late July into early August. An easterly tropical wave—an equatorward trough of low pressure—exited the west African coast in the fourth week of July, at which point it became largely embedded within the monsoon trough. Located to the south of a ridge of high pressure, the wave moved west-northwestward across the open Atlantic; it retained a broad circulation with little to no precipitation for a day or two. Over time, clusters of convection increased around the broad system, and it developed two distinct centers of circulation on July 30. During the morning of July 31, the