Tropical Storm Cristobal was a relatively weak tropical cyclone that meandered in the western Atlantic Ocean prior to being absorbed into a frontal zone. The third named storm of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season, Cristobal developed on August 5 near the coast of South Carolina from the same trough that spawned Tropical Storm Bertha. The storm tracked slowly southeastward in the early portion of its duration, and initially remained disorganized. Cristobal attained peak winds of 50 mph (85 km/h), and lost the characteristics of a tropical cyclone on August 8. The remnants brought moderate precipitation to Bermuda, and in combination with a high pressure system the storm caused three drownings on Long Island from rip currents.