Dolly Closes In On Texas Border

Tropical Storm Dolly is building strength in the Gulf of Mexico after dumping up to a half-foot of rain on the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula and taking 12 lives.

The National Weather Service said it expected Dolly to reach hurricane status late today or tomorrow, coming ashore at the Texas and Mexico boarder sometime tomorrow.

Dolly has reached maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. A Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale has sustained wind speeds of 74-95 mph.

Reports say Dolly is expected to drop up to 15 inches of rain in southern Texas after making landfall.

Tim Doggett, senior research scientist for catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide, said in a statement that where Dolly tracks after hitting the coast “is highly uncertain.” Some forecast models put landfall at Corpus Christi, Texas, but the National Hurricane Center has the storm striking closer to the border, he said.

“In either case, operations of offshore assets off the Texas coast are likely to be affected,” he said in a statement.

AIR said rainfall drenching the Yucatan with four-to-six inches of rain caused mudslides in Guatemala, burying homes and killing 12 people. Wind damage to insured properties is not expected to be significant.

The federal Minerals Management Service, which oversees the nation's production of oil and natural gas off the U.S. coast, said four production platforms and one drilling rig were shut down and evacuated in the Gulf in the path of Tropical Storm Dolly. The shutdown has resulted in no loss of oil production, the MMS said.

Tropical Storm Genevieve has formed in the Pacific off the coast of Mexico and is expected to head west away from land. It is expected to form into a hurricane sometime between tomorrow and Thursday, the National Weather Service said.