Up to 15 inches of rain could produce flooding and breach levees. Dolly is even causing thunderstorms as far away as Houston, 400 miles up the Texas coastline.
Rough surf, driving rain and howling winds; Dolly made her presence known as soon as she arrived in the gulf coast early Wednesday morning.
Dolly, the first hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. So far this season, is bearing down on Brownsville, Texas. Up to 15 inches of rain is expected in this area.
The real concern isn't the wind, but flooding. Officials fear a potential levee breach in the Rio Grande valley. On the Texas-Mexico border sandbags and plywood are the first, and for many, the only lines of defense.
Forecasters have downgraded Hurricane Dolly to a Category 1 storm with winds at 95 miles per hour.
Even before Dolly arrived, Governor Rick Perry declared 14 south Texas counties disaster areas.
On the barrier island of South Padre Island, the only bridge to the mainland is closed, leaving vacationers stranded, some without power.