 On September 16 , 2000 a tropical wave – an elongated area of low air pressure moving from east to west – exited the west coast of Africa . It moved westward across the Atlantic Ocean without development due to the presence of upper @-@ level wind shear . After moving across the Caribbean Sea , a disturbance along the wave started to become better organized on September 27 . The next day , a Hurricane Hunters flight indicated a closed circulation and winds of 37 mph ( 60 km / h ) ; upon receiving the data , the National Hurricane Center ( NHC ) initiated advisories on Tropical Depression Fifteen at 2100 UTC . The NHC later estimated the depression had formed three hours earlier , about 70 mi ( 110 km ) north @-@ northeast of Cabo Gracias a Dios . Upon forming , the depression had good outflow , although the convection was not as organized . With an anticyclone over the system , the depression was expected to gradually intensify while moving slowly to the west @-@ northwest , a motion caused by weak steering winds . Late on September 28 , the NHC upgraded the depression to tropical storm status and named it Keith , after another Hurricane Hunters mission reported flight @-@ level winds of 61 mph ( 98 km / h ) . 
