The origins of Hurricane Francelia were from a tropical wave – an elongated low pressure area – that exited the western coast of Africa on August 19. It moved westward across the tropical Atlantic Ocean, and the annual summary of 1969 tropical cyclone activity indicated there may have been a tropical depression – a cyclone with sustained winds of less 40 mph (75 km/h) – briefly located within the system. On August 26, an area of convection, or thunderstorms, developed along the wave, about 800 miles (1300 km) east of Barbados. A Hurricane Hunters flight two days later reported no low-level circulation. As the system moved through the southern Lesser Antilles, ship and land observations suggested a circulation had developed, signalling the formation of a tropical depression in the extreme southeastern Caribbean Sea early on August 29.