Tropical Storm Earl caused minor damage in the Windward Islands in mid-August 2004. The sixth tropical cyclone and named storm of the annual hurricane season, Earl developed on August 13 from a tropical wave centered well east of the Lesser Antilles. The depression gradually organized as it tracked west-northwestward and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Earl roughly a day after genesis. As the system approached the Windward Islands it continued to slowly strengthen, peaking as a 50 mph (85 km/h) tropical storm early on August 15. However, the system unexpectedly degenerated into a tropical wave that afternoon, likely due to its fast forward motion. The remnants of Earl continued across the Caribbean Sea and eventually re-developed into Hurricane Frank in the eastern Pacific Ocean on August 2