Tropical Storm Dolly heads toward Caribbean, bringing heavy rain

Tropical Storm Dolly is accelerating across the Atlantic, setting its course toward the Leeward Islands and the wider Caribbean. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued a warning Friday morning, forecasting significant rainfall for the region over the weekend.

Dolly, which formed on Thursday, was packing maximum sustained winds of nearly 40 mph (65 km/h) with higher gusts. The NHC advised that heavy rain from Dolly could impact the Leeward Islands from late Saturday into Sunday. The storm's effects are then expected to reach the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola on Sunday and Monday, with a risk of flash flooding in areas with higher terrain in the Leeward Islands.

Currently, no coastal watches or warnings are in effect. The Leeward Islands form an arc stretching from the Virgin Islands to Guadeloupe, situated between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Hispaniola is the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Online discussions noted the storm's name, Dolly, emerged shortly after the death of American country music star Dolly Parton. However, the NHC clarified that the name is coincidental. Storm names are drawn from alphabetical lists managed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), rotating every six years. Dolly is the fourth name on the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season list.

The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, has been relatively quiet this year. Forecasters attribute this to El Niño conditions in the equatorial Pacific, which increase wind shear and tend to inhibit tropical storm formation and strengthening.

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Heavy rain from Dolly could affect the Leeward Islands late Saturday into Sunday, with rainfall moving into the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola Sunday and Monday. This heavy rain may produce flash flooding within areas of higher terrain of the Leeward Islands.