Tropical Storm Dolly headed for tip of Yucatan, then TX/MX border by Wednesday.

[Firespirit]

Forecast to make final landfall as a hurricane. I am afraid it may be stronger than 75 mph when it hits, because that part of the Gulf is a bathtub, 85 degrees in places.

Folks in that area need to make preparations... I'd suggest for a Cat-2 event, in the event that the intensity forecast is off. Better to be safe, especially since there is such very short notice.

And, supposing that the hurricane center's forecast is dead on, what can people expect this to do to gasoline prices? (Yeah, I'll go there. Everyone's thinking it anyway.) Is there a lot of oil production in that area?

[geckosfeet]

1. Ooo - she fired up fast. Just a depression last night.

[Warpy]

4. She's actually taken her time

They expected it to rev up when it was still hundreds of miles east of the Leeward Islands but it sort of fell apart.

I guess she didn't want to make Bertha jealous.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

2. I wonder if it will turn and head for Oklahoma?

I remember last year with what was a hurricane came barreling into the Oklahoma Plains, and started to reform over the hot fields. It was CRAZY. And then it flooded and everything went to hell.
Duckie

[XOKCowboy]

3. Please Dolly don't turn south. I have friends in Belize

The ex-pats will be OK for the most part but it really hurts the poor locals. We tend to forget that when the tropical storms and hurricanes hit Central American countries, it's the poorest of the poor that are affected the worst. Our focus is usually if/when it'll hit the US.