The National Hurricane Center (NHC) began to track a tropical wave associated with a few showers and thunderstorms, moving westward off the coast of northern Central America on July 17. Four days later, thunderstorm activity became stronger; by July 22, the area of low pressure became better organized. On July 23, the NHC noted that the system could become a tropical depression within the next two days; however, they also noted that wind shear could increase within a couple of days. After an ASCAT pass and an increase in convection, the NHC upgraded the storm to Tropical Storm Genevieve on July 25. A few hours later, the system attained its initial peak strength of 45 mph (75 km/h).