Hurricane Dolly (1996)

Infobox Hurricane
Name=Hurricane Dolly
Type=hurricane
Year=1996
Basin=Atl
Image location=Hurricane_Dolly_%281996%29.gif


Formed=August 19, 1996
Dissipated=August 26, 1996
1-min winds=70
Pressure=989
Da

Inflated=
Fatalities=14 direct
Areas=Mexico
Hurricane season=1996 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Dolly was a Category 1 hurricane that struck Mexico. The storm killed 14 people and left many homeless. Dolly was the fourth named storm and the third hurricane of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season.

Dolly was named on August 19 in the western Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and Honduras. Dolly strengthened and was a minimal hurricane at landfall near Chetumal, Quintana Roo on August 20. Weakened to a tropical storm, Dolly continued out into the Bay of Campeche, and it regained hurricane strength before a second landfall near Tampico, Tamaulipas on August 23. The storm's remnants continued across Mexico before dissipating over the Pacific on the 26th.

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 Sea 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.National Hurricane Center. [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1996dolly.html Hurricane Dolly.] Retrieved on 2007-01-22.]

Dolly strengthened on August 19 and August 20 as it moved west-northwest. Convection was 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 and Tampico, Mexico on August 23.

Dolly weakened to a tropical depression as it crossed central Mexico and dissipated when entering the Pacific basin on August 26.

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 Rio 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. [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1996dolly.html TPC NHC DOLLY 1996 PRELIMINARY REPORT ] ]

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.

Approximately 6,500 people were evacuated from low-lying zones of Tampico.

Impact

Mexico

The highest storm total noted with Dolly was 37.41 inches/950 mm at Llano Gde. Hilarios. [Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. [http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/dolly1996.html Hurricane Dolly.] Retrieved on 2007-01-22.] The place with the most rainfall received in a 24-hour-period was in Micos, Mexico, which received 12.94 inches (329 mm) of rain. Some other high rainfall recordings were in Santa Rosa, Mexico, which recorded 10.59 inches (270 mm), and Puerto de Valles, Mexico, 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), delTuxpan, 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). [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1996dolly.html TPC NHC DOLLY 1996 PRELIMINARY REPORT ] ]

According to newspaper reports, fourteen people died in the storms passage. Six drowned in Veracruz, three in Nuevo Leon, and one each in Pueblo Viejo and Monterrey. An additional two people from Neuvo Leon 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, Panuco, Tampico Alto, and elsewhere along the coast of northeast Mexico. In Quintana Roo, large areas of farmland was lost to the storm. [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1996dolly.html TPC NHC DOLLY 1996 PRELIMINARY REPORT ] ]

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.U.S. Department of Agriculture. [http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/WWNatSumm//1990s/1996/WWNatSumm-08-27-1996.txt Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin.] Retrieved on 2007-01-22.]

Lack of retirement

Despite its effects, the name Dolly was not retired and it was used again in both the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season and the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season.

Trivia

Dolly was one of five storms to form in the Caribbean Sea in 1996 (the others being Cesar, Kyle, Lili, and Marco), the other time that happened was in 1969.Caribbean Hurricane Network. [http://stormcarib.com/hurr96.htm The Hurricane Page: The 1996 Season.] Retrieved on 2007-01-22.]

ee also

*List of tropical cyclones
*List of Atlantic hurricanes
*Tropical cyclones

External links

* [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1996dolly.html Dolly 1996 Tropical Cyclone Report]
* [http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/dolly1996.html Dolly 1996 Rainfall Report]
* [http://stormcarib.com/hurr96.htm The Caribbean Hurricane Page]

References