Hurricane Dolly (1996)
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
.jpg) Hurricane Dolly making landfall | |
| Formed | August 19, 1996 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | August 26, 1996 |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 80 mph (130 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 989 mbar (hPa); 29.21 inHg |
| Fatalities | 14 direct |
| Areas affected | Mexico |
| Part of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Dolly was a Category 1 hurricane that struck Mexico. The storm killed 14 people and left many homeless. The fourth named storm and the third hurricane of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season, Dolly developed from a tropical wave in the west-central Caribbean on August 19. Becoming a tropical storm shortly thereafter, the system was then named Dolly by the National Hurricane Center. Dolly continued to strengthen further, and became a minimal hurricane before making landfall near Chetumal, Quintana Roo on August 20. Dolly rapidly weakened over the Yucatán Peninsula, and was only a tropical depression after being inland for about 24 hours. Dolly continued out into the Bay of Campeche, and it regained hurricane strength before a second landfall near Tampico, Tamaulipas on August 23. Dolly again rapidly weakened over Mexico, but the system reached the Pacific Ocean before dissipating on August 26.
Fourteen people were reported dead in Mexico. Hundreds of homes were destroyed, and large areas of crop land were flooded. A monetary estimate of the damage is not available.
Meteorological history
Dolly formed from a tropical wave which moved off the west coast of Africa and entered the Caribbean between August 9 and August 18. The tropical wave was slightly disorganized until reports from hurricane hunter aircraft and ship suggested that the system reached tropical depression status on August 19. Six hours later, the depression became a tropical storm and was named Dolly, the fourth named storm of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season.[1]
Dolly strengthened on August 19 and August 20 as it moved west-northwest.[1] Convection became more organized before the storm made landfall on Yucatán Peninsula northeast of Chetumal as a minimal hurricane. During its 24 hour passage over the Yucatán, Dolly weakened to a tropical storm, but restrengthened back into a hurricane over the Bay of Campeche. Dolly retained hurricane status with peak winds at 80 mph (135 km/h) and a pressure of 989 mbar before making its final landfall between Tuxpan, Veracruz, and Tampico, Tamaulipas, on August 23.[1]
Dolly weakened to a tropical depression as it crossed central Mexico and dissipated when entering the Pacific basin on August 26.[1]
Preparations
Shortly after the formation of Dolly, a Tropical Storm Warning was issued from Chetumal to Progreso, Yucatán, and a tropical storm watch was placed between Pinar del Río Province and Isle of Pines, Cuba. Just three hours later, another Tropical Storm Warning was given to an area between San Pedro Town, Belize, and the Mexican border. On August 20, the Tropical Storm Watch was discontinued for Cuba, as the system was moving away from the area. At around midday, another Tropical Storm Warning was issued from Progreso, Yucatán, to Ciudad del Carmen. Only an hour later, a Tropical Storm Warning from Cozumel to Chetumal was upgraded to a Hurricane Warning. In the afternoon of the 20th, all warnings south of Cozumel were discontinued. Just six hours later on August 21, all Tropical Storm Warnings east of 88°W were discontinued. Shortly after that, a Tropical Storm Warning east of Progreso was removed. By the end of the day, all warnings for Mexico were discontinued.[1]
When Dolly entered the Bay of Campeche on August 22, a Hurricane Watch was put into action for Veracruz, La Pesca, and all areas in between. Only six hours later, the watch became a Hurricane Warning until Dolly made landfall, when all remaining warnings were removed.[1]
Approximately 6,500 people were evacuated from low-lying zones of Tampico.[1]
Impact
Mexico
The highest storm total noted with Dolly was 37.41 inches/950 mm at Llano Gde. Hilarios.[2] The place with the most rainfall received in a 24-hour-period was in Micos, which received 12.94 inches (329 mm) of rain. Some other high rainfall recordings were in Santa Rosa, which recorded 10.59 inches (270 mm), and Puerto de Valles, which received 10 inches (254 mm) of rain. The rains also occurred in some more widely known cities, including Acapulco, with 7.48 inches (190 mm) of rain, Los Mochis, with 7.06 inches (179 mm), Tuxpan, with 5.88 inches (149 mm), Chetumal, with 5.73 inches (146 mm), Monterrey, with 4.93 inches (125 mm), and Cancún, with a mere 1.35 inches (34.3 mm).[1]
According to newspaper reports, fourteen people died in the storms passage. Seven drowned in Veracruz and four in Nuevo León. An additional two people from Nuevo León were reported to be missing. This could rise in post-season analysis. Hundreds of homes were destroyed leaving 35,000 people homeless and there was severe damage in Tuxpan, Tamiahua, Pueblo Viejo, Platon, Pánuco, Tampico Alto, and elsewhere along the coast of northeast Mexico. In Quintana Roo, large areas of farmland were lost to the storm.[1]
| Country | Total | State | State total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 14 | Veracruz | 7 |
| Nuevo León | 4 | ||
Texas
Though far from the United States, Dolly did manage to bring heavy rain and high winds to southern Texas. Weekly rainfall totals in Corpus Christi reached 5.53 inches (141 mm) and 2.82 inches (71.6 mm) in Brownsville. Corpus Christi daily rainfall measurements on Friday and Saturday were as high as 1.92 inches (48.8 mm) and 2.55 inches (64.8 ), a new daily record.[3]
See also
- Other storms of the same name
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hurricane Dolly (1996). |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 National Hurricane Center. Hurricane Dolly. Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
- ↑ Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. Hurricane Dolly. Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
- ↑ U.S. Department of Agriculture. Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin. Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
| |||||||||||||
