 A weak low @-@ pressure area that organized in the northeast Gulf of Mexico began to intensify on July 28 , while located west of the Tampa Bay . Early in its life , the system had a broad circulation with primarily light winds , similar to that of a subtropical storm . The storm is estimated to have become a tropical depression earlier the previous day as it moved toward the northeast . It made landfall along the Florida coast near Cross City and continued inland , gradually accelerating . It likely attained tropical storm status at around 1200 UTC on July 28 while its center was situated west of Tampa . The cyclone was named Brenda after reconnaissance aircraft confirmed that it had reached tropical storm strength . 
