Dolly has strengthened overnight, and is now just miles from the coast (at 16Z) and is a Category 2 hurricane... 85kts and 964mb. Though only 40 miles or so offshore, the eyewall (the engine that drives the rest of the machine) is still over very warm Gulf water. As such, the storm can still continue to strengthen while the entire western half of the storm is over land. The eye is presently located 40 miles ENE of Brownsville TX and is ~23 miles across.
Rainfall totals could reach one foot. Storm surge is in the 4-6 foot ballpark. It's still too early to know the full aftermath, as it's still in progress. Buoy 42020, offshore between Brownsville and Corpus Christi, is reporting 22' waves, and the worst is still coming.
It's moving very slowly (about 6kts) and is now heading nearly parallel to the coast, which means Dolly could still have several hours over water. If you navigate to the link below, you'll find links to radar loops, surface observations, and satellite imagery.
Hardly worth discussing, Cristobal is now a disorganized extratropical storm south of Newfoundland.
The easterly wave near the Cape Verdes has degenerated quite a bit and is now much less of a concern. It will be monitored for signs of redevelopment.
Please visit my tropical Atlantic headquarters.
P.S. You can all consider yourselves more educated than CNN, who claims that Dolly is the second storm of the Atlantic season. Hard to reach "D" after only two storms! Granted, it is the second HURRICANE, but not the second storm. Details, details....
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