At the beginning of August, a frontal system moved off of the U.S. east coast. A low pressure center formed along the front shortly after, not far from the coast of North Carolina. It moved steadily east-northeast away from land and soon detached from the front. Late on August 3, it had fully shed frontal characteristics, and was already producing gale force winds. Therefore, it was named Tropical Storm Dexter.
From the time of its formation, wind shear out of the west continually increased over Dexter, causing the center to be exposed on the western edge of the convective canopy. The westerly flow northwest of a subtropical ridge over the central Atlantic kept the storm on a steady, but not especially rapid, east-northeast heading. The marginal conditions ensured that Dexter did not strengthen much within the next couple of days. On August 6, the cyclone began to show signs of extratropical transition as shear increased further and the center became elongated. The next day, Dexter became extratropical. The storm actually achieved its peak winds as an extratropical cyclone, with sustained winds approaching hurricane strength as it moved out to sea over the North Atlantic.
Dexter was a sheared storm throughout its short stint as a tropical cyclone.
After forming near land, Dexter moved steadily out to sea.
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