 The disturbance was already producing tropical storm-force winds, and as a result, skipped tropical depression status to become Tropical Storm Rafael at 1800 UTC on October 12.At this time, the cyclone was located roughly 200 mi (320 km) south-southeast of St. Croix.Despite being named, Rafael remained disorganized initially; this was the result of the interaction between an upper-level trough and the cyclone itself.