Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Dolly Watch

The Weather Channel, starved for tropical excitement over the past two years, is surely thrilled to have Tropical Storm Dolly spinning in the Gulf of Mexico. As one might expect, Jim Cantore, their superstar storm chaser, has been dispatched to Corpus Christi, Texas, to stand in the wind and rain as Dolly makes landfall. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the storm seems to be veering west of the forecast track and Jim may be heading for Brownsville to stay in the action.

Still expected to strengthen into a low level hurricane, Dolly will likely miss the oil and gas platforms of the northern Gulf but there is still hope that its remnants will bring drought relief to southern Texas. Should the storm move far enough to the north to threaten South Padre Island and Texas coastal cities, it will get front page billing in U.S. newspapers; should it stay south and wreak havoc on Mexican fishing villages, look for the story on page two or three.