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Nine-E appears to have originated from a tropical wave that moved off the African coast on 8 August. This system traveled westward across the tropical Atlantic basin with only isolated deep convection associated with it. The wave crossed Central America on 15 August, and for the next few days, while the system moved westward to the south of Mexico, it generated only sporadic deep convection. A persistent area of disturbed weather associated with the wave was first noted on 19 August about 725 miles south-southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. This area moved west-northwestward, and remained poorly organized, with the cloud pattern elongated from southwest to northeast. By 23 August, the convection became organized into a more circular pattern, and it is estimated that a tropical depression formed around 1800 UTC that day about 800 n mi west-southwest of Cabo San Lucas. Initially, the cyclone moved northward to north-northwestward, while strengthening only slightly to its peak intensity of 30 kt. On 24 August, the depression turned west-northwestward and it maintained this course for a couple of days. Low water temperatures and southerly to southwesterly shear prevented strengthening, and a building low- to mid-level ridge caused the cyclone to turn westward on 26 August, by which time the cyclone had lost all deep convection. The remnant low moved west-southwestward for a couple of days, and dissipated on 28 August about 950 n mi east of Hilo, Hawaii. The "best track" of this depression is listed in Table 1 and displayed in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Best track positions for Tropical Depression Nine-E, 23-26 August 2004.