After becoming a tropical storm, it had an eye, a clear opening at the center of the storm. The NHC named it Tropical Storm Vince, but at the time, it was not known whether Vince was tropical or subtropical. A later analysis of the storm found that Vince became tropical before it was given a name. The storm's eye became more settled and had a diameter of 15 mi (25 km). The storm also became stronger; it reached its highest force on October 9. At the time, it had wind speeds of 75 mph (120 km/h), a very weak Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. One NHC weather forecaster said that "if it looks like a hurricane, it probably is, despite its environment and unusual location".