 On October 30 , a poorly @-@ defined tropical wave and its associated small area of disturbed weather emerged into the Atlantic from the west coast of Africa . Strong wind shear prevented significant development or organization of deep convection for a few days . However , by November 5 , cloudiness and showers increased as the system was approaching the Lesser Antilles . After a rapid increase in convection and the circulation becoming more well @-@ defined on satellite imagery , a tropical depression about 115 mi ( 190 km ) southeast of San Salvador Island in the Bahamas around 18 : 00 UTC on November 8 . The depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Kate early on November 9 . After initially moving northwestward , Kate briefly accelerated northward around the western periphery of a subtropical ridge over the central Atlantic . Thereafter , the cyclone accelerated further and curved northeastward due to the mid @-@ latitude westerlies . 
