Before the storm, the National Hurricane Center started a tropical storm warning from Cape Lookout, North Carolina to the Virginia–North Carolina border. Before Cristobal formed, it produced light rain in Florida. At Lake Wales, about 6 inches (150 mm) of rainfell, mostly in a two hour period. The rain clogged storm drains, which caused light flooding. The rain caused no serious problems, and helped get rid of dry conditions. The storm dropped in Wilmington, North Carolina. Minor flooding happened there. Because most of the storm stayed out to sea, winds along the coast were light. On the coast, storm surge reached above normal. Winds that were of tropical storm-strength were reported offshore. No severe damage was reported.