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Storm Threatens Mexico, Texas Coasts

Posted on: Tuesday, 22 July 2008, 12:00 CDT

Parts of South Texas and Northwest Mexico are under hurricane watches as a fast-moving tropical storm churns over warm water in the Gulf of Mexico.

Forecasters said they expect Tropical Storm Dolly to strengthen into a hurricane Tuesday, with landfall likely sometime Wednesday. The watch area extends from Port O'Connor and Brownsville, Texas, south to Rio San Fernando, Mexico.

Warm sea-surface temperatures and low wind shear in the Gulf mean favorable conditions for Dolly to grow into a hurricane. Its maximum sustained winds were near 50 mph Monday; a Category 1 hurricane typically has winds between 74 and 95 mph.

Coastal residents along the western Gulf should check their storm-preparation plans and begin securing loose objects in their yards, said Dennis Feltgen, a meteorologist and spokesman for the National Hurricane Center in West Miami-Dade.

The storm was not expected to disrupt any oil rigs in the Gulf, but it could cause some flooding once it reaches land, Feltgen said.

Still, Shell Oil said it was evacuating workers from oil rigs in the western Gulf of Mexico, according to the Associated Press, and the federal government was trying to decide whether to begin construction on a new border fence, which was to be combined with levee improvements along the Rio Grande in Hidalgo County.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry activated 1,200 National Guard troops and other emergency crews, and he ordered 250 buses to be staged in San Antonio in case of an evacuation order.

"This could be problematic," Feltgen said Monday evening.

"At the very least, Dolly could be one incredible rainmaker. Some places could get up to 15 inches of rain."

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Cristobal was moving away from the U.S. East Coast after bringing weekend rain to the Carolinas.

Cristobal was about 660 miles southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and moving northeast at 13 mph, but the latest forecast does not show the storm reaching hurricane status.

Cristobal and Dolly are the third and fourth named storms of this year's Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1 and continues through November.

Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted above-average activity this season, with 12 to 16 named storms, including six to nine hurricanes, as many as five of which could be intense, with winds above 110 mph.

"It sure appears we're on track for that," Feltgen said Monday. "The season seems to be a bit active right now, and we're not even into August yet."

An average season has 11 named storms, including six hurricanes, two of which reach at least Category 3 status. Of this year's four named storms, one -- Bertha -- grew into a hurricane that became a Category 3 storm with 120 mph winds.

Source: The Miami Herald

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