a tropical wave merged with a broad low pressure area and an upper trough near honduras. the system quickly organized into tropical depression nineteen on october 7. the depression brushed central america before curving northward, where it strengthened into tropical storm roxanne on october 9. roxanne posed a threat to cuba and the cayman islands, which briefly prompted the issuance of a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch. however, a high pressure system forced roxanne to tracked generally westward, which prevented it from significantly affecting the aforementioned islands. after becoming a hurricane on october 10, roxanne began to rapidly strengthen. later that day, the storm peaked as a minimal category 3 hurricane, with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h).