Cindy was a relatively short-lived tropical cyclone. A post-storm reanalysis indicates Cindy was a category 1 hurricane just offshore and while making landfall along the southeastern coast of Louisiana. The hurricane produced heavy rainfall across coastal areas of southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and caused minor wind damage in the New Orleans metropolitan area. Cindy was also the first of five named tropical cyclones that developed during an unusually active month of July. The post-storm reanalysis upgrade of Cindy to hurricane status means 15 Atlantic basin hurricanes occurred in 2005, a new record for a year.

The tropical wave that eventually developed into Cindy moved westward off the coast of Africa on 24 June. The wave moved quickly westward for the next three days and produced little convection. However, by 28 June, deep convection developed along the northern portion of the wave axis when it was located just east of the Lesser Antilles. The southern portion of the wave broke away and continued westward, while the northern portion containing the active convection moved west-northwestward across the northern Caribbean Sea. On 3 July, thunderstorm activity had become more concentrated over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and satellite classifications were initiated. Nearby surface and buoy observations revealed a broad low pressure area had developed and, later that day, reports from a United States Air Force Reserve Unit reconnaissance aircraft indicated a tropical depression had formed at 1800 UTC about 70 n mi east of Chetumal, Mexico. The “best track” chart of the tropical cyclone’s path.