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Hurricane Dolly (2008)

Hurricane Dolly was a Category 2 hurricane at its peak, with 98 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 963 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 3 of the cities we track; the strongest was Brownsville, TX, with a modeled peak gust of 67 mph.

Peak strength98 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 2
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
3
LandfallsFirst July 21, 2008
3
Lowest pressure
963 mb

Track, wind field and cities

Select a piece of the track or a city for details.

  • Depression or weaker
  • Tropical storm
  • Hurricane, Category 1 or 2
  • Major hurricane, Category 3 to 5
  • Landfall
  • City (larger ring, stronger modeled gust)
  • Modeled wind field, 39 to 111 mph sustained (darker, stronger; orange 111 mph+)
Source: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center best track (HURDAT2). City winds and the wind field are modeled.

The shaded areas are where our model puts Hurricane Dolly’s sustained winds over open land at 39 mph or more (tropical-storm force), 58, 74 (hurricane force) and 111 mph (major hurricane force) at some point along its track. Modeled, not measured. How we model hurricane winds

Landfalls

  1. July 21, 2008, tropical storm at 52 mph, in Mexico
  2. July 23, 2008, Category 1 at 86 mph, about 33 miles from Brownsville, TX
  3. July 23, 2008, Category 1 at 81 mph, about 29 miles from Brownsville, TX

Modeled winds at cities (3)

Estimated peak winds for open, flat ground at each city’s center. Not measurements. How we model hurricane winds

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Brownsville, TX67 mph54 mph29 milesJul 23, 2008, 3:00 PM CDT
Edinburg, TX62 mph51 mph20 milesJul 23, 2008, 8:30 PM CDT
McAllen, TX55 mph45 mph29 milesJul 23, 2008, 9:45 PM CDT

What happened

Dolly, which formed in the western Caribbean on July 20, made landfall on South Padre Island, Texas, at 1820 UTC (1:20 p.m. CDT) on July 23, 2008, as a Category 1 hurricane with 75-knot (86 mph) winds.1 Two hours later its center crossed the mainland coast about 10 nautical miles south of Port Mansfield with 70-knot (81 mph) winds and a central pressure of 967 mb.1

A Texas Tech University tower on a South Padre Island dune measured a gust of 93 knots (107 mph).1 Storm surge reached up to 4 feet at South Padre Island, Port Mansfield and the Port of Brownsville, and water from the Laguna Madre flooded the bay side of South Padre Island 3 to 4 feet deep.1 Rain totaled 5 to 10 inches or more over parts of the lower Rio Grande Valley, with 15 inches at Harlingen, and caused extensive inland flooding.1 Five EF0 tornadoes in Cameron, San Patricio and Jim Wells counties did little damage.1

On South Padre Island, Dolly caused mostly moderate structural damage, chiefly to roofs, and some lightly built warehouses and industrial buildings had significant wind damage.1 Damage in Brownsville was minor, mostly lost roofing material.1 NHC estimates about $1.05 billion in US damage, and one death, a surf drowning in the Florida Panhandle, was attributed to Dolly.1

Sources

  1. 1. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Dolly (AL042008)

Best track (31 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Jul 20, 12:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph1008 mb17.8°N, 83.6°W
Jul 20, 18:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph1008 mb18.6°N, 84.6°W
Jul 21, 00:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph1007 mb19.8°N, 85.8°W
Jul 21, 05:30 UTC (landfall)Tropical storm52 mph1007 mb20.8°N, 87.0°W
Jul 21, 06:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph1007 mb20.9°N, 87.2°W
Jul 21, 12:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph1005 mb21.8°N, 88.8°W
Jul 21, 18:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph1005 mb22.8°N, 90.4°W
Jul 22, 00:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph1000 mb23.0°N, 92.0°W
Jul 22, 06:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph999 mb23.2°N, 93.3°W
Jul 22, 12:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph993 mb23.7°N, 94.1°W
Jul 22, 18:00 UTCTropical storm69 mph990 mb24.3°N, 94.9°W
Jul 23, 00:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane75 mph982 mb24.9°N, 95.7°W
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