Dolly, holding on to Tropical Storm Strength

Lead Meteorologist, The Weather Channel
5:17 a.m. ET 7/24/2008

Hurricane Dolly made landfall about 20 to 25 miles north of the town of South Padre Island or 35 miles northeast of Brownsville as a borderline category one to category two hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 95 to 100 mph between 1:30 to 2 p.m. CDT.

Dolly now continues to slowly weaken, while moving slowly west-northwest across far south Texas. As of 4 a.m. CDT, the center of circulation was located 95 miles northwest of Brownsville, Texas, and winds very near the center were near 60 mph. Overall winds surrounding the circulation were generally 35 to 45 mph, with some gusts over 50 mph.

A huge concern remains to be flooding rain. Residents should remain on alert for flooding through today, especially along the Rio Grande Valley. Be prepared to move to higher ground if flooding should approach.

Even before the eye’s official landfall, Dolly’s eye wall punished interior and coastal South Texas beginning at the mid morning hours and the lashing continues into this evening.

It should be emphasized that this will be a long duration event for parts of South Texas due to Dolly’s sluggish nature and impacts from Dolly, especially flooding rainfall, will last well into tonight. What is left of Dolly will then move toward the 4 Corner states and could provide heavy rain on Friday.

Locations along the immediate coast such as Port Mansfield, Laguna Vista, Arroyo City, South Padre Island, and Port Isabel have all taken a pounding today.

Other cities such as Brownsville, Harlingen, and Raymondville have also felt the wrath of Dolly.

All power was reported out on S. Padre Island while power lines and power poles are down in Brownsville, Harlingen, and Port Isabel.

Port Mansfield and Rincon recorded 76 mph wind gusts with structural damage as the eye wall slammed ashore. Roof shingles/tiles were reported torn off in several communities.

Other reports included a 70 mph wind gust at Port Isabel and extensive dock and roof damage. Brownsville recorded a wind gust of 68 mph during the height of the Dolly’s landfall.

An unofficial observer east of Matamoros, Mexico recorded winds of 65 mph with gusts to 119 mph.

Wave heights, between 10 and 20 feet, crashed along the shoreline during much of the day. There is a possibility that severe beach erosion occurred. With Dolly now inland, wave heights will continue to decrease.

Even with the extensive damage being reported, the most life-threatening impact from Dolly is becoming the prolific flooding rainfall.

Rain amounts are forecast to exceed 6 inches in some locations, including the South Texas counties of Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy where flooding is a certainty. Some isolated spots may receive close to 15+ inches of rain.

A majority of Cameron County, including the city of Harlingen, has already received an estimated 8 to 12″ of rain. Major flooding is occurring in Harlingen on Wednesday evening. Texas state officials are reporting two feet of water in downtown Harlingen with water entering people’s homes in a portion of the city.

In the eastern Pacific, Tropical Storm Genevieve has maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. Genevieve is located 575 miles west southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. It may reach minimal hurricane strength on Thursday or Friday as it heads harmlessly west into the open eastern Pacific waters. For the latest on the tropics, stay tuned to The Weather Channel or view updates here on weather.com.