UPDATE: Hurricane force winds on the way as eye nears coast

HARLINGEN - The National Weather Service is warning that the worst of Hurricane Dolly, packing winds of at least 75 miles per hour and gusts up to 95, will spread into Cameron and Willacy counties during the next couple of hours.

Hurricane Dolly has been moving very slowly toward landfall this morning, with the eye now just a few miles east of the mouth of the Rio Grande and South Padre Island.

Dolly is buffeting South Padre Island at this hour with gusts of up to 75 miles an hour, rocking light poles and knocking down at least one sign. KRGV- NewsChannel 5 footage showed waves atop the storm surge rolling across the Laguna Madre and crashing against the base of the Queen Isabella causeway in Port Isabel.

A large section of roof on the historic Palmetto Inn and blown off and its sign was blown over. The Bahia Mar also has lost a large section of its roof.

At the Howard Johnson's Hotel, wind was blowing water into the lobby and palm trees were seen bending in the wind. As of 9:30 a.m. police said no major damage had been reported.

The hotel swimming pool is half filled with plastic lawn furniture as water seeped under doorways and through windows. Hotel employees are placing towels on floors to sop up water seeping through walls and in some cases ceilings.

In San Benito, more than 600 people have taken shelter at San Benito High School.

Heavy rain is reported in Brownsville, where several hundred people have taken shelter in three of the city's high schools. Some minor flooding has been reported in San Benito, Los Fresnos and north Harlingen.

Harlingen has had just less than an inch of rain so far this morning, with winds of 25 mph or so blowing steadily for several hours at the Valley Morning Star. A tornado was reported near the airport around 7 a.m.

Much stronger winds are still ahead for the city.

The worst of Hurricane Dolly is still offshore, with landfall of the eyewall expected within the next hour or so.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for eastern Cameron County, including Brownsville, Olmito, and Port Isabel as rain is falling in those areas at the rate of 1-2 inches per hour.

New information will be posted here on valleystar.com as it becomes available.

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