Late on July 11, a low pressure center moved off of the coast of North Carolina and entered the Atlantic Ocean. Thunderstorms became more concentrated near the low when its circulation encountered warm water early on the 12th, but the system was not yet tropical. Relatively low wind shear allowed the system to organize as it tracked northeast over the next day. By the afternoon of July 13, it had lost its frontal characteristics and was named Tropical Storm Claudette.
As Claudette accelerated away from land, conditions became unfavorable almost immediately as wind shear significantly increased. By the evening, thunderstorm activity was confined to the northeastern quadrant. Over the next day, the tropical storm steadily weakened from its peak intensity of 50 mph. The circulation was devoid of significant convection by the evening of July 14 and the cyclone became post-tropical.
Shortly after becoming a tropical cyclone, Tropical Storm Claudette began to experience strong shear that exposed the center.
Claudette formed from a frontal low that originated over North Carolina.
