• David Tewes •
• Originally published July 23, 2008 at 12:05 a.m., updated July 23, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

Other than a strong breeze and a few clouds, Tuesday looked pretty much like any other summer day in Port O’Connor.

“It’s a beautiful day,” said Joanie Morgan, owner of The Treasure Chest. And Morgan hopes it stays that way.

But Dolly was churning up the Gulf of Mexico southeast of Brownsville and by late Tuesday afternoon had turned into a Category 1 hurricane.

The storm appeared to be headed for the Brownsville area, and the core should make landfall today. If that forecast is correct, the Middle Texas Coast won’t see much, if any, of the storm’s fury.

“The main threat for the Victoria area is going to be heavy rain,” said forecaster Tim Tinsley with the National Weather Service. “I think we’re still calling for 4 to 8 inches for some areas of the Coastal Bend.”

But only 2 to 4 inches were expected for the Victoria area. That shouldn’t cause serious flooding, Tinsley said.

Winds will be about 20 mph today and the surf should run 1 to 2 feet above normal.

That forecast might explain the laid-back attitude of some in the Port O’Connor area.

“They don’t seem to be worried about it,” said Mary Scott at Froggie’s Bait Dock in Port O’Connor. “We had people go fishing this morning.”

The wind was out of the east at 23 mph, but Scott said she hadn’t seen anyone board up for the storm.

LaDonna Thigpen, the Calhoun County emergency management coordinator, said there’s no reason to recommend residents evacuate. She said that’s because no major coastal flooding is expected.

“It will come up on the beach areas and possibly go over Ocean Drive in the Magnolia Beach area,” Thigpen said. “Right now they’re expecting it to go into Mexico, so I don’t expect any high winds or tropical storm force winds here.”

O.C. Garza, spokesman for the Victoria County emergency manager, said it appeared Dolly was becoming less of a threat for Victoria County, too.

A skeleton crew will continue to monitor the storm and emergency communications, but the emergency operations center will not be opened, he said.

“We’re definitely not opening any shelters, although there is a contingency plan to open them if the need suddenly arises,” Garza said.

Gov. Rick Perry issued a disaster declaration Tuesday for Victoria and 13 other counties. The other counties are Aransas, Bexar, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio and Willacy.

The declaration allows the state to send emergency resources to the areas in the storm’s path.

Perhaps Garza summed up the situation when he said, “What’s good news for us is unfortunately bad news for Brownsville.”

David Tewes is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6515 or dtewes@vicad.com

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