The NHC named the storm "Grace" at 11:00 AST on October 4. It was the seventh named storm of the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm had some strong convection and an eye-like feature (a clearing at the center). Grace was over waters that are normally too cold for tropical storms to exist. However, because there was not much wind shear, it was able to stay together. Grace moved towards the northeast. The storm became slightly stronger as it moved over colder waters. Winds in the storm were estimated at 70 mph (110 km/h) early on October 5. However, the NHC found later that Grace's highest winds were actually a little weaker, at 65 mph (100 km/h).