HOUSTON -- Hurricane Dolly made landfall in south Texas Wednesday afternoon, packing 100 mph winds as a Category 2 storm and bringing strong winds and heavy rain for hours, KPRC Local 2 reported. After crossing land, the storm weakened and was downgraded to Category 1 before going back to a tropical storm.

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At 10 p.m., the center of Tropical Storm Dolly was 55 miles northwest of Brownsville, with maximum sustained winds near 70 mph. It was located at 26.5 north and 98.1 west, moving west near 7 mph.

The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning from Brownsville to Port Aransas.

Hurricane Dolly pounded south Texas for hours after it crossed the coast.

The outer eye of Hurricane Dolly began to cross South Padre Island at about 10:30 a.m.

Forecasters said Hurricane Dolly officially made landfall near South Padre Island shortly before 2 p.m. Landfall is when a storm's center crosses the coastline, but it does not necessarily indicate the location of the worst weather.

"This storm had its sights on south Texas and it didn't let go, plowing into South Padre Island," KPRC Local 2 chief meteorologist Frank Billingsley said. "It's going to continue (Wednesday night) as a tropical storm and there will be remnants of the system over Laredo on Thursday. As it makes its way across, they are looking for heavy rain to continue. In fact, that can cause some serious flooding."

Dolly could dump between 8 to 12 inches of rain. Twenty inches of rain is a possibility in some areas, forecasters said.

"Inland flooding is going to continue to be the real issue," Billingsley said.

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More Videos:

Dolly's Eye Crosses South Padre: Robert Arnold Reports

Corpus Christi Spared Dolly's Worst: Phil Archer Reports

Dolly Causes Dangerous Currents In Galveston: Elizabeth Scarborough Reports

Dolly Does Not Deter Galveston Tourists: Mariza Reyes Reports

Are Residents Registering With 211?: Courtney Zavala Reports

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Houston Feels Effects Of Dolly

Even though Houston was not in Dolly's path, the city started to feel the hurricane's effects early Wednesday morning as the outer bands reached the Bayou City.

Strong downpours moved through Pasadena and downtown Houston, knocking out power for about 15 minutes.

But the rain did not last long enough to cause any flooding.

"A lot of dry air has worked its way into southeast Texas. Showers are having trouble really staying together. I think there's still a chance that we'll see a few showers (Wednesday night) and as we move on into Thursday, as well," Billingsley said. "We've had an inch amount of rain throughout the day. We have been very lucky that this storm is to our south."

A tornado watch was issued until 7 a.m. Thursday for Jackson and Matagorda counties.

"Galveston had 43 mph wind gusts overnight. Outer rain bands extended to Louisiana," KPRC Local 2 meteorologist Anthony Yanez said.

A 70 percent chance of rain was forecast with a high of 88 degrees.

Harris County and the city of Galveston opened their emergency management offices Monday as a precaution.

Dolly Focuses Eye On South Texas

Dolly began slamming ashore on South Padre early Wednesday morning. A steady rain began at 3 a.m. with high gusts hitting at 6 a.m.

"Those gusts that come through and make it hard to stand upright and also make it a little hard to look forward. As that wind really comes in and drives the rain through, picking up the grit off the ground, it feels like tiny little darts embedding in your skin," KPRC Local 2 reporter Robert Arnold said while covering the storm in South Padre.

Arnold said the city appeared to be deserted as people took shelter indoors.

Most of the damage from Dolly was on South Padre. Numerous roofs were ripped off and windows were smashed. The roadways and yards were strewn with trees, fences, power poles and fallen streetlights. Business signs rolled around streets like tumbleweeds.

A sign on a motel blew off, but no one was injured and it did not pose a hazard.

A 17-year-old boy fell from a seventh-story apartment balcony, breaking his hip, fracturing a leg and injuring his head.

An apartment complex roof also partially collapsed. Residents said they didn't believe anybody was injured.

Melissa Zamora, a spokeswoman for the town of South Padre Island, said the roof collapse caused a plumbing leak and a few residents were being relocated.

"I thought it was just a big clap of thunder, (then) saw this stuff flying around and it's the roof," said Buck Dopp, who lives in the ground floor apartment under the collapsed roof. Dopp and his family packed up and left the building, despite their plans to ride out the storm.

No evacuations were ordered in Texas, but people with large vehicles on South Padre Island were told to get off the island by Tuesday evening.

Hundreds of vehicles packed the causeway bridge to get away from the storm on Tuesday while 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-clearance vehicles into low-lying parts of the city if needed.

"We're still going to be impacted with some tropical force storm winds and some rains associated with that -- 2 to 4 to 6, maybe 6 inches," said Rick Sijansky, the Corpus Christi Emergency Management Coordinator.

Gov. Rick Perry declared 14 South Texas counties disaster areas, allowing state resources to be used to send equipment and emergency workers to the areas.

Texas Army National Guard troops are staged in Houston, Austin and San Antonio.

Galveston Tourists Brave Dolly's Outer Bands

Galveston tourists kept a close eye on Hurricane Dolly, but many vacationers said they do not plan to abandon their plans.

When a red flag is flying around Galveston's beaches, surf's up, but only for those who dare.

Strong waves are why so many surfers were in the water on Wednesday.

To make sure they were safe, Beach Patrol workers were in their towers keeping a close eye on everyone in the water.

"We're more concerned about the novice guys who say they've surfed a hurricane or a storm," said Chief Peter Davis of Galveston's Beach Patrol. "Folks who know how to surf to a certain point are not an unlikely risk out there."

Hurricane Dolly's outer rain bands hit Galveston Island early Wednesday morning with on-and-off rain showers and high tides.

Wind gusts reached more than 40 mph.

Some visitors said it was too harsh of conditions to even enjoy the water.

"It's not very enjoyable. It keeps smacking you around," said Paul Litchfield, a visitor from Dallas.

Josh Rochkind and his girlfriend decided to pass on surfing.

"It's like a washing machine out there. We don't get any waves, so that's why everyone is out," he said. "The water is pretty cool to look at, but not a place to be in. If it gets better and gets cleaner, I may go in."

Galveston Beach Patrol takes care of the 33 miles of beach in Galveston and about 70 miles of waterfront.

The beach patrol is not responsible for closing the beaches, which is the city's call.

However, the beach patrol will assist the city if ever called upon.

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