Tropical Storm Dolly was a short-lived and disorganized

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

that caused moderate damage across

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, in early September 2014. Originating from a

tropical wave A tropical wave (also called easterly wave, tropical easterly wave, and African easterly wave), in and around the Atlantic Ocean, is a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which ...

, the system first became a tropical depression late on September 1 while situated over the

Bay of Campeche The Bay of Campeche (), or Campeche Sound, is a bight in the southern area of the Gulf of Mexico, forming the north side of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It is surrounded on three sides by the Mexican states of Campeche, Tabasco and Veracruz. The ...

. Dolly struggled against strong

wind shear Wind shear (; also written windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical ...

for the duration of its existence. The large system featured multiple circulations, sometimes becoming a new dominant center and other times simply rotating around a mean vortex. As a result, multiple center relocations occurred along its general west-northwest track. Dolly eventually made

landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

in Tamaulipas on September 3 before degenerating into a

remnant low Remnant or remnants may refer to: Religion * Remnant (Bible), a recurring theme in the Bible * Remnant (Seventh-day Adventist belief), the remnant theme in the Seventh-day Adventist Church * ''The Remnant'' (newspaper), a traditional Catholic n ...

. The system subsequently dissipated the following day. Prior to Dolly's landfall, schools suspended classes and officials opened shelters across Tamaulipas and

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. The storm produced widespread moderate to heavy rain in Mexico, with accumulations peaking at in La Encantada, Tamaulipas. Subsequent flooding caused damage amounting to 290.5 million pesos (

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

22.2 million). One fatality was indirectly attributed to the storm. Moisture from Dolly also brought scattered storms to Southern Texas.

Meteorological history

On August 19, 2014, a

emerged off the west coast of Africa. The system traversed the Atlantic over the next week with no signs of

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

Convection Convection is single or Multiphase flow, multiphase fluid flow that occurs Spontaneous process, spontaneously through the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoy ...

finally increased once the wave entered the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

on August 27; however, it was not until August 30 when interaction with a

Kelvin wave A Kelvin wave is a wave in the ocean, a large lake or the atmosphere that balances the Earth's Coriolis force against a topographic boundary such as a coastline, or a waveguide such as the equator. A feature of a Kelvin wave is that it is non-d ...

spurred organization. An

area of low pressure In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclem ...

consolidated within the system as it crossed the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

on August 31. Formation of a banding feature along the southeastern portion of the circulation on September 1 marked the system's transition into a tropical depression by 18:00 UTC while over the

. Although situated over warm waters of , strong

created an unfavorable environment and hindered intensification. During this formative stage, the depression tracked northward as its center relocated before turning to the northwest and later west. It was uncertain if a closed circulation truly existed due to conflicting data and the depression could have remained a

trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...

until the afternoon of September 2. Early on September 2, the depression acquired gale-force winds and became the fourth tropical storm of the 2014 season; accordingly, it was assigned the name ''Dolly'' at this time. A tight

pressure gradient In hydrodynamics and hydrostatics, the pressure gradient (typically of air but more generally of any fluid) is a physical quantity that describes in which direction and at what rate the pressure increases the most rapidly around a particular locat ...

between Dolly and a

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

over the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

created a large area of tropical storm winds along the east side of the cyclone. Data

Hurricane Hunters Hurricane hunters, typhoon hunters, or cyclone hunters are aircrews that fly into tropical cyclones to gather weather data. In the United States, the organizations that fly these missions are the United States Air Force Reserve's 53rd Weather ...

investigating the system indicate that Dolly achieved its peak winds of around 12:00 UTC. Winds up to were found within the deep convection to the storm's east but considered to be inflated by heavy rains and thus not representative of its actual strength. Slight weakening took place shortly thereafter as the center relocated to the south. During this relocation, multiple circulations were observed rotating around a mean position with yet another vortex located well to the southeast. Around 01:00 UTC on September 3, Dolly's pressure fell to 1000

mbar The bar is a metric unit of pressure defined as 100,000 Pa (100 kPa), though not part of the International System of Units (SI). A pressure of 1 bar is slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea ...

(

hPa The pascal (symbol: Pa) is the unit of pressure in the International System of Units (SI). It is also used to quantify internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus, and ultimate tensile strength. The unit, named after Blaise Pascal, is an S ...

; 29.53

inHg Inch of mercury (inHg, ″Hg, or in) is a non- SI unit of measurement for pressure. It is used for barometric pressure in weather reports, refrigeration and aviation in the United States. It is the pressure exerted by a column of mercury in h ...

) marking the storm's peak intensity. Maintaining a due west course, Dolly made

just south of

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...

at 04:00 UTC with winds of . Radar observations depicted a secondary center to the north that moved ashore near Altamira an hour later. Once onshore, Dolly's circulation separated from all remaining convection and the storm degenerated into a

later that day. The system subsequently dissipated early on September 4.

Preparations and impact

The remnants of Dolly brought widespread moisture to Southern Texas by September 5. Scattered thunderstorms developed across the region, with some producing damaging winds. More than of rain fell in Brownsville, causing street flooding. Dozens of Mexican fishing vessels sought refuge in the Port of Brownsville; however, two ran aground in the shipping channel and a third on

South Padre Island South Padre Island is a barrier island in the U.S. state of Texas. The remote landform is located in Cameron County, Willacy County, and accessible by the Queen Isabella Causeway. South Padre Island was formed when the creation of the Port Ma ...

. The

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

attributed the mishaps to the sudden influx of ships. Southerly flow from Hurricane Norbert over the Pacific brought moisture from Dolly over the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

, resulting in possible life-threatening

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash f ...

ing.

Mexico

Coinciding with the first advisory on Tropical Depression Five late on September 1, the

Government of Mexico The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the Mexico, United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the ...

issued a

tropical storm warning Tropical cyclone warnings and watches are alerts issued by national weather forecasting bodies to coastal areas threatened by the imminent approach of a tropical cyclone of tropical storm or hurricane intensity. They are notices to the local pop ...

for areas between

Tuxpan Tuxpan (or Túxpam, fully Túxpam de Rodríguez Cano, for Enrique Rodríguez Cano) is both a municipality and city located in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The population of the city was 89,557 and of the municipality was 154,600 inhabitants, ...

and La Pesca. This was soon expanded northward to include areas between La Pesca and . Public schools and the

Autonomous University of Tamaulipas The Autonomous University of Tamaulipas (in ) is a Mexican public university based in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. Throughout the larger cities of Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Tampico and smaller cities of Ciudad Mante and Valle Hermo ...

suspended classes on September 2 and 3 in

and

. Officials opened 53 shelters for potential evacuees.

Pemex Pemex (a portmanteau of Petróleos Mexicanos, which translates to ''Mexican Petroleum'' in English; ) is the Mexico, Mexican State ownership, state-owned Petroleum industry, petroleum corporation managed and operated by the government of Mexico, ...

temporarily suspended operations of two oil production plants. Between September 1–4, Dolly brought widespread heavy rains to Mexico. Accumulations of were common across the states of

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico :''Most, if not all, named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811)'' * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coah ...

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz, with a peak value of in La Encantada, Tamaulipas. Flooding in Tamaulipas prompted residents to evacuate and utilize public shelters. A roof collapse at a ballpark injured two people. Losses from heavy rain in El Mante reached 7 million pesos (US$535,000), prompting a state of emergency. Total damage in the state amounted to 290.5 million pesos (US$22.2 million). Some residences temporarily lost power across Tamaulipas. Road collapses in

Veracruz City Veracruz (), also known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipal seat for the surrounding municipalities of Mexico, municipality of Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico and the most populous city in the Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, ...

damaged ten homes and four cars. One of these further threatened 40 homes in Infonavit Buena Vista within the city. A rockslide occurred in the remote community of El Tecomate. Flooding in

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

caused notable disruptions and some damage. No observations of sustained tropical storm-force winds were received, though a gust of was observed in Barra del Tordo. Accordingly, wind damage was limited to Cabo Rojo. One death was indirectly attributed to Dolly.

References

External links

*The National Hurricane Center's *The National Hurricane Center'
Advisory Archive for Tropical Storm Dolly
{{2014 Atlantic hurricane season buttons Dolly Dolly 2014 Dolly 2014 Dolly 2014 Dolly

Meteorological history

Preparations and impact

Mexico

See also

References

External links