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Dolly Could Become Hurricane, Strike U.S. Or Mexico

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By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 21, 2008

Tropical Storm Dolly could be the year's first hurricane to strike the United States as the strengthening storm emerges into the welcoming environment of the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami has issued a hurricane watch for Texas from Brownsville to Port O' Connor, meaning hurricane winds are possible within 36 hours.

Dolly crossed the Yucatan Peninsula on Sunday without losing much of its punch and this morning entered the southwest Gulf.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center expect Dolly to reach hurricane strength by Tuesday. The storm will continue gaining strength until it hits land Wednesday, and the forecast calls for Dolly's winds to reach about 90 mph by landfall.

The storm will travel over a deep reservoir of warm water, and upper-level winds will help it gain power.

Dolly is moving at 18 mph and is expected to slow as it crosses the Gulf, giving the storm longer to strengthen.

In addition to the hurricane watch issued for southern Texas, the center issued a tropical storm watch from Port O' Connor to San Luis Pass. Similar alerts have been issued for northern Mexico.

Meanwhile Tropical Storm Cristobal is forecast to gain a bit more strength during the next 24 hours as it crosses the Gulf Stream. The hurricane center does not expect Cristobal to strike the U.S. mainland.

The storm should skirt the coastline of the United States and Canada through Wednesday before hanging a sharp right and heading east into the Atlantic Ocean later in the week.

In addition to the two tropical storms, the hurricane center today started keeping an eye on a strong tropical wave that has yet to emerge from the coast of Africa.

The wave, a mass of thunderstorms, is likely to encounter conditions favorable for development, forecasters said.

Dolly formed from a tropical wave that crossed the Atlantic and entered the Caribbean Sea last week. About 70 waves leave Africa each hurricane season, and some become the seeds of hurricanes.

August and September are the peak months for waves to become hurricanes.

Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7731 or njohnson@tampatrib.com.

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