First Alert: County officials say Dolly is sure to bring flooding to the area

Cameron County Emergency Management officials expect to have more information this morning on just how much impact Tropical Storm Dolly will have on the county and exactly where it will make landfall.

Officials worked late into the night on Monday preparing for a possible strike by Dolly, which is expected to be upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane within the next two days.

"We are going to have a flood problem. We will have a flood problem," County Emergency Management Coordinator Johnny Cavazos said.

Cameron County remained under a hurricane watch and hurricane wind watch late Monday.

At 4 p.m. Monday, Dolly was located near latitude 23.1 north and longitude 91.2 west or about 420 miles east-southeast of the South Texas coast. Dolly was moving west-northwest near 18 mph. The storm is expected to reduce its speed, which could cause it to intensify.

"Residents need to start taking precautions now," County Judge Carlos H. Cascos said continuously on Monday.

"Take care of your pets ... check the batteries on the flashlights. People need to take responsibility for themselves," Cascos said.

Residents are also urged to have plywood on hand should they decide to board up the windows at their homes. They are also urged to make arrangements to move out of their neighborhoods if they are prone to flooding.

Dolly is expected to make landfall at 3 p.m. Wednesday somewhere between Brownsville and Corpus Christi, said Jack Colley, the state's emergency management coordinator. Although officials said it's still too early to pinpoint an exact landfall location, they expect to have clearer information at noon today.

The county could start experiencing 35 mph winds as early as this evening, weather officials said. South Padre Island could have winds as high as 40 mph by midnight Tuesday.

The storm's outer rain bans could begin around noon today.

County officials held several conference calls with the National Weather Service and state emergency management officials, who said the county should get ready for heavy rainfall.

"The main concern is that Tropical Storm Dolly will intensify, but to what degree we don't know," Colley said. "It will impact people and lots of people."

Dolly could drop as much as 4 inches of rain per hour.

"Cameron County is a good bet at this time. Circulation is well defined ... it is starting to pull an eye together," said Nezette N. Rydell, meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service in Brownsville.

Cascos late Monday afternoon issued a mandatory relocation order for high-profile vehicles at Isla Blanca Park on South Padre Island. As of late Monday, approximately 500 high-profile vehicles still needed to be removed.

Officials said that once winds at South Padre Island reach 45 mph, state officials will close the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge.

County public works employees on Monday continued to fill sandbags and clean drains around the county. Workers on the Island also removed trash cans from the county parks.

The county also is working with local school districts to open some schools as community shelter sites.

The Red Cross will not open any shelters in the county, officials said.

lmartinez@brownsvilleherald.com