Galveston County Office of Emergency Management

SITUATION REPORT #1

SUBJECT: Tropical Storm Dolly

DATE AND TIME COVERED:    Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 10:00 pm through Monday, July 21, at 12:00 pm

●  CURRENT SITUATION:

The forecast track for Tropical Storm Dolly shows landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast between Brownsville to just north of Corpus Christi.  A hurricane watch is issued for the Texas Coast from Brownsville northward to Port O’Connor.  A tropical storm watch is issued for the Texas Coast from north of Port O’Connor to San Luis Pass. At 10:00 AM CDT, the center of Tropical Storm Dolly was located near latitude 22.1 north, longitude 89.5 west.  Dolly is moving toward the west-northwest near 18 mph.  A gradual decrease in forward speed is forecast during the next couple of days with little change in the direction of motion.  On this track, Dolly will be approaching the coast of the western gulf of Mexico by Wednesday.  Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph with higher gusts.  Strengthening is forecast and Dolly could become a hurricane by tomorrow.  Tropical Storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles from the center.  Dolly is expected to produce 1 to 3 inches of rain locally, particularly on the coast.  Tides are forecast to be 1 to 2 feet above normal.

The next advisory will be issued by the National Hurricane Center at 4:00 am CDT.

●  AREAS AFFECTED BY THIS EVENT:     No current impact to Galveston County and surrounding counties, however the area could be affected by rains, somewhat higher tides and winds as early as Tuesday night depending on actual track of the storm

● RESPONDING OFFICES/DEPARTMENTS, RESOURCES COMMITTED: GCOEM staff is monitoring the situation closely

●  CASUALTIES:     None.

●  DAMAGES:     None reported.

●  EVACUATION:     A mandatory evacuation is not anticipated at this time.  Citizens are urged to keep their gas tanks full. 

●  SHELTER:         None.

●  ROADS CURRENTLY CLOSED/IMPACTED:     None.

●  CURRENT UTILITY OUTAGES:     None.

● COMMENTS: The Emergency Management Division is closely monitoring this situation.  Conference calls are being conducted with the National Weather Service, State of Texas Operations Center and our regional partners.  

● EOC Activation Status:  Level 3

        The four (4) levels of EOC activation are:

            Level 1 (Emergency Conditions)
            Level 2 (Escalated Response Conditions)
            Level 3 (Increased Readiness Conditions)
            Level 4 (Normal Conditions)