Dolly to Become First Oil Threat Storm
Posted by ns62590 on July 21, 2008
Late last night into early this morning Tropical Storm Dolly made her first landfall in the northern Yucatan, south of Cancun. Since then, it has quickly tracked over the southern Gulf of Mexico and now as of 8pm Monday, the center was located about 405 miles east-southeast of Brownsville, Texas with winds of 50mph. However, the storm is getting better organized and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane tomorrow. A hurricane watch is in effect for south Texas and northern Mexico. According to the National Hurricane Center, these watches will probably become hurricane warnings at the next advisory.
While Dolly will stay far enough south to keep away from a large number of the oil wells in the Gulf, large waves may cut oil production for a time over the next two days. Now, of course the effects of this will not be as bad as was with hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005, but it was worth mentioning.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Cristobal has strengthened as it moves away from the outer banks of North Carolina. Not much harm was done from this storm, and that’s a good thing. For the latest on Dolly, keep it here and to the National Hurricane Center.
