On October 19, a tropical wave was moving westward through the eastern Caribbean Sea. It had an extended low pressure area. It was expected to become better organized. On October 20, the system became better organized as expected. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that it had a high potential for it to become a tropical cyclone within 48 hours. The next day, thunderstorms were small. Although, barometric pressure in the area remained low. Because of this, the system had potential for development. The thunderstorms got bigger, while the system slowed and eventually stopped moving. At 1500 UTC on October 22, the NHC gave out advisories on Tropical Depression Eighteen. The NHC reported that the storm was 320 mi (515 km) south of Kingston, Jamaica.