Tropical Storm Dolly is expected to bring flooding to South Texas and northeastern Mexico as it moves inland and weakens after making landfall as a hurricane yesterday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Dolly maintained tropical-storm strength today, with maximum sustained winds of 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour, slowing from 60 mph earlier today, the agency said in an advisory on its Web site shortly before 7 a.m. local time. The storm came ashore yesterday as a Category 2 hurricane, packing 100 mph winds.
The system, whose center was over inland Texas about 50 miles east-southeast of Laredo, has already destroyed cotton fields in the state and temporarily cut of power to thousands in Mexico. Dolly is forecast to bring up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain to isolated parts of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico, the center said.
“These rains are very likely to cause widespread flooding,” the agency in Miami said. “Dolly is expected to weaken as it moves farther inland and it is expected to become a tropical depression by tonight.” Tropical depressions have maximum sustained winds below 39 mph.