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Dolly Builds Strength With U.S. In Its Sights

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By NEIL JOHNSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 22, 2008

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

Residents along the Texas-Mexico border kept a watchful eye on Dolly on Monday, stocking up on plywood, generators and flashlights. Shell Oil said it was evacuating workers from oil rigs in the western Gulf of Mexico, and the federal government was trying to decide whether it could begin construction on a new border fence, which was to be combined with levee improvements along the Rio Grande in Hidalgo County.

The storm was expected to bring high winds and dump 10 to 20 inches of rain in coastal areas near the U.S.-Mexican border. Emergency officials feared major flooding problems and urged coastal residents to prepare.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry activated 1,200 National Guard troops and other emergency crews. Mindful of the disastrous evacuation before Hurricane Rita hit the Texas Gulf Coast in 2005 - when far more people died from heat-related injuries and auto accidents fleeing the storm than from the weather - Perry also ordered 250 buses to be staged in San Antonio.

Dolly crossed the Yucatan Peninsula on Sunday without losing much of its punch and entered the southwest Gulf on Monday morning. The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a hurricane warning for parts of coastal Texas and Mexico, meaning hurricane winds are possible within 24 hours.

At 11 p.m., the center of Tropical Storm Dolly was about 435 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center expect Dolly to reach hurricane strength by today. The storm is expected to continue gaining strength until it hits land Wednesday as a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 74 mph to 95 mph.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Cristobal was moving northeast, away from the United States. Forecasters said the storm was no longer an immediate threat to the United States.

The hurricane center Monday also started keeping an eye on a strong tropical wave that has yet to emerge from the coast of Africa.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7731 or njohnson@tampatrib.com.

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