Hurricane Dolly Slows, Strengthens As It Nears Texas
Storm Expected To Hit Brownsville Area
POSTED: Tuesday, July 22, 2008
UPDATED: 10:08 pm CDT July 22,
2008
HOUSTON -- Dolly became a category 1 hurricane as it gained strength, slowed down and moved toward the Texas coast, KPRC Local 2 reported Tuesday.
U.S. Satellites: Infrared | Infrared Loop
Radar: Texas Loop
Interactives: Track Dolly's Path | Hurricane Section
Download: Hurricane Guide | Tracking Chart
E-mail: Get Severe Weather Alerts
At 10 p.m., the center of Hurricane Dolly was 110 miles east-southeast of Brownsville, Texas, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. It was located at 25.1 north and 96.0 west, moving northwest at about 9 mph.The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning from Brownsville, Texas, to Corpus Christi, Texas.A tropical storm warning was issued from north of Corpus Christi to San Luis Pass, Texas. Brazoria and Matagorda counties are included in the warning.Hurricane Dolly is expected to strike between northern Mexico and Corpus Christi on Wednesday morning. The center of the forecast track is near Brownsville. Dolly is expected to dump 15 to 20 inches of rain.The storm has really started to get stronger here at the center," KPRC Local 2 meteorologist Anthony Yanez said. "The other thing we're seeing is the outer rain bands. All along, the greatest convection of the storm has been to the north of the dirty side of the system."Houston Could Feel Effects Of DollyHouston will not take a direct impact, but will feel its effects."Tropical storm-force winds have been out to 160 miles from the center, so this is a healthy storm. Those winds will reach as far north as Corpus Christi. I think Galveston will have 30 to 40 mph winds, tops," KPRC Local 2 chief meteorologist Frank Billingsley said. "One to three inches of rain will be common on Wednesday. Three to five inches of rain in isolated spots. Twenty to 25 mph winds along the coast with gusts to 30 mph."The seas, winds and rain have picked up along the coast.
More Videos:
Outer Bands Bring Galveston Rain: Lisa Baldwin Reports
South Padre Island Braces For Dolly: Robert Arnold Reports
Corpus Christi Takes Dolly Seriously: Phil Archer Reports
Residents Urged To Prepare For Hurricane Season: Lyndsay Levingston Reports
Harris County and the city of Galveston opened its emergency management offices Monday as a precaution.Officials said they are not trying to scare anyone, but Dolly's existence is a good reminder to be prepared."The only thing we cannot afford to have happen is to get caught off-guard and we won't," County Judge Ed Emmett said.Some residents did not waste any time and stocked up on supplies."Just with the mention of a hurricane being out there, people are buying lanterns, batteries, getting radios," said Tim Scott, a customer service manager at a local Lowe's.Emmett said Dolly is reminder that it is better to be over-prepared than to have nothing."Assume something's going to come at some point and if you get to the end of the season and didn't use it, no harm done," said Emmett.Galveston Keeps Eye On DollyGalveston tourists also kept a close eye on Hurricane Dolly. Vacationers said they did not plan to abandon their plans but were being cautious."It's a little farther to the south so we'll get some of the bands of rain," vacationer Larry Cermosek said. "It will come and go and the sun will come out."The Galveston Beach Patrol is keeping a close eye on the waters. Chief Peter Davis said they have seen tides 1 foot above normal and 5-to-7 foot surf."It's unusual for the summer but it's not something that we're overly concerned with," he said. "We're really careful to keep people away from the rock piers and put advisories out."Drivers paid attention to Texas Department of Transportations signs along Houston freeways say it all: "Hurricane forming in Gulf ... fill your tanks.""I thought it was a good message," driver Ross Margraves said. "I'm here filling up."Houstonians are taking the message to heart, especially after the traffic nightmares that accompanied Hurricane Rita in 2005."I'll go and convince my wife to fill up her tank in her car, so we both have full tanks," motorist John Pfeiffer said.Coastal Areas PrepareTexas Gov. Rick Perry activated 1,200 National Guard troops in preparation for Hurricane Dolly. He also activated 250 buses to be staged in San Antonio and fuel teams if there is an increased demand for gas in the region.No evacuations have been ordered in Texas, but people with large vehicles on South Padre Island were told to get off the island by 5 p.m.Hundreds of vehicles packed the causeway bridge to get away from the storm.Others decided to stay put."It's too much work to leave," resident John Smith said."Reports said the storm wasn't going to be quite that bad," another South Padre Island resident said."I've been through it before. If you watch the weather, it's only going to be (category) one or two, so it's not going to be incredibly bad," resident Trey Little said.Flooding is the biggest concern in Corpus Christi.City officials said they are prepared to send high-bottomed vehicles into low-lying parts of the city if needed."We're at the outside edge, but we're not too convinced yet. We're still going to be impacted with some tropical force storm winds and some rains associated with that -- two to four to six maybe six inches," said Rick Sijansky, the Corpus Christi Emergency Management Coordinator.Officials in Brownsville started handing out sandbags in anticipation of receiving several inches of rain.Shell Oil evacuated more than 200 of its workers from platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.They flew 14 flights over the past three days to make sure everyone stayed safe."Shell takes every precaution to make sure everybody's safe," said Marco Antonio Rios of Shell Aviation Lulugistics. "They tie down the platforms, all the loose things that are out there that could fly away." More Weather:
Copyright 2009 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
U.S. Satellites: Infrared | Infrared Loop
Radar: Texas Loop
Interactives: Track Dolly's Path | Hurricane Section
Download: Hurricane Guide | Tracking Chart
E-mail: Get Severe Weather Alerts
At 10 p.m., the center of Hurricane Dolly was 110 miles east-southeast of Brownsville, Texas, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. It was located at 25.1 north and 96.0 west, moving northwest at about 9 mph.The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning from Brownsville, Texas, to Corpus Christi, Texas.A tropical storm warning was issued from north of Corpus Christi to San Luis Pass, Texas. Brazoria and Matagorda counties are included in the warning.Hurricane Dolly is expected to strike between northern Mexico and Corpus Christi on Wednesday morning. The center of the forecast track is near Brownsville. Dolly is expected to dump 15 to 20 inches of rain.The storm has really started to get stronger here at the center," KPRC Local 2 meteorologist Anthony Yanez said. "The other thing we're seeing is the outer rain bands. All along, the greatest convection of the storm has been to the north of the dirty side of the system."Houston Could Feel Effects Of DollyHouston will not take a direct impact, but will feel its effects."Tropical storm-force winds have been out to 160 miles from the center, so this is a healthy storm. Those winds will reach as far north as Corpus Christi. I think Galveston will have 30 to 40 mph winds, tops," KPRC Local 2 chief meteorologist Frank Billingsley said. "One to three inches of rain will be common on Wednesday. Three to five inches of rain in isolated spots. Twenty to 25 mph winds along the coast with gusts to 30 mph."The seas, winds and rain have picked up along the coast.
More Videos:
Outer Bands Bring Galveston Rain: Lisa Baldwin ReportsSouth Padre Island Braces For Dolly: Robert Arnold ReportsCorpus Christi Takes Dolly Seriously: Phil Archer ReportsResidents Urged To Prepare For Hurricane Season: Lyndsay Levingston Reports Harris County and the city of Galveston opened its emergency management offices Monday as a precaution.Officials said they are not trying to scare anyone, but Dolly's existence is a good reminder to be prepared."The only thing we cannot afford to have happen is to get caught off-guard and we won't," County Judge Ed Emmett said.Some residents did not waste any time and stocked up on supplies."Just with the mention of a hurricane being out there, people are buying lanterns, batteries, getting radios," said Tim Scott, a customer service manager at a local Lowe's.Emmett said Dolly is reminder that it is better to be over-prepared than to have nothing."Assume something's going to come at some point and if you get to the end of the season and didn't use it, no harm done," said Emmett.Galveston Keeps Eye On DollyGalveston tourists also kept a close eye on Hurricane Dolly. Vacationers said they did not plan to abandon their plans but were being cautious."It's a little farther to the south so we'll get some of the bands of rain," vacationer Larry Cermosek said. "It will come and go and the sun will come out."The Galveston Beach Patrol is keeping a close eye on the waters. Chief Peter Davis said they have seen tides 1 foot above normal and 5-to-7 foot surf."It's unusual for the summer but it's not something that we're overly concerned with," he said. "We're really careful to keep people away from the rock piers and put advisories out."Drivers paid attention to Texas Department of Transportations signs along Houston freeways say it all: "Hurricane forming in Gulf ... fill your tanks.""I thought it was a good message," driver Ross Margraves said. "I'm here filling up."Houstonians are taking the message to heart, especially after the traffic nightmares that accompanied Hurricane Rita in 2005."I'll go and convince my wife to fill up her tank in her car, so we both have full tanks," motorist John Pfeiffer said.Coastal Areas PrepareTexas Gov. Rick Perry activated 1,200 National Guard troops in preparation for Hurricane Dolly. He also activated 250 buses to be staged in San Antonio and fuel teams if there is an increased demand for gas in the region.No evacuations have been ordered in Texas, but people with large vehicles on South Padre Island were told to get off the island by 5 p.m.Hundreds of vehicles packed the causeway bridge to get away from the storm.Others decided to stay put."It's too much work to leave," resident John Smith said."Reports said the storm wasn't going to be quite that bad," another South Padre Island resident said."I've been through it before. If you watch the weather, it's only going to be (category) one or two, so it's not going to be incredibly bad," resident Trey Little said.Flooding is the biggest concern in Corpus Christi.City officials said they are prepared to send high-bottomed vehicles into low-lying parts of the city if needed."We're at the outside edge, but we're not too convinced yet. We're still going to be impacted with some tropical force storm winds and some rains associated with that -- two to four to six maybe six inches," said Rick Sijansky, the Corpus Christi Emergency Management Coordinator.Officials in Brownsville started handing out sandbags in anticipation of receiving several inches of rain.Shell Oil evacuated more than 200 of its workers from platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.They flew 14 flights over the past three days to make sure everyone stayed safe."Shell takes every precaution to make sure everybody's safe," said Marco Antonio Rios of Shell Aviation Lulugistics. "They tie down the platforms, all the loose things that are out there that could fly away." More Weather:
- Weather Section Texas Radar Loop VIPIR Radar Loop 7-Day Forecast National Weather Alert Map River Levels Severe Weather Alerts Monitor Approaching Storms With Premium Weather
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Previous Stories:
- July 21, 2008: Warnings Issued For SE Texas As Dolly Inches Closer
- July 20, 2008: Tropical Storm Dolly Forms In Caribbean
Copyright 2009 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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