The National Hurricane Center on Friday said the fast-paced Tropical Storm Dolly was keeping form for now in the Atlantic as it heads toward the Caribbean, but is forecast to degenerate before any landfall.<\/p>\n
In the NHC\u2019s 5 a.m. advisory, the center of Dolly was located about 1,145 miles east of the Caribbean\u2019s Leeward Islands moving west at 24 mph with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.<\/p>\n
Tropical-storm-force winds extend out 115 miles from its center.<\/p>\n
5 AM AST Fri Aug 28 (Advisory 4) Key Messages for Tropical Storm #Dolly<\/a>. Latest info: https:\/\/t.co\/GrztW6mQJV<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/GBc3zbfKEZ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cOn the forecast track, this system, or its remnants, should be nearing the Leeward Islands this weekend,\u201d said NHC senior hurricane specialist John Cangialosi. \u201cLittle change in strength is likely during the next couple of days, and Dolly is forecast to degenerate into a tropical wave before it reaches the Leeward Islands.\u201d<\/p>\n Will Tropical Storm Dolly threaten Florida? Here\u2019s the latest tracking map and spaghetti models<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Even if it does disintegrate, heavy rain from the system could begin lashing the Caribbean late Saturday into Sunday affecting\u00a0the Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and then Puerto Rico and Hispaniola from Sunday into Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cThis heavy rain may produce flash flooding, especially in areas of higher terrain,\u201d Cangialosi said.<\/p>\n The next advisory will be at 11 a.m.<\/p>\n \u2018Purely coincidental\u2019: Tropical Storm Dolly name has nothing to do with Dolly Parton death, NHC says<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n With the death this week of beloved entertainer Dolly Parton<\/a>, many had commented online about the storm\u2019s name.<\/p>\n \u201cThe timing of the use of the name Dolly for this storm is purely coincidental,\u201d the NHC noted in its tropical discussion. \u201cTropical storm and hurricane names<\/a> for the North Atlantic Basin originate from six pre-determined rotating lists established by the World Meteorological Organization Region IV Hurricane Committee.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the name Dolly had replaced Diana after the 1990 hurricane season and was first used in 1996.<\/p>\n Dolly becomes the fourth named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season after tropical storms Arthur, Bertha and Cristobal.<\/p>\n Hurricane season began June 1 and runs through Nov. 30, but the height of hurricane season runs from mid-August through mid-October.<\/p>\n The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration earlier this month updated its seasonal forecast and now expects between seven and 13 named storms this year. Of those, two to six would become hurricanes. It also predicted that there might not be any major hurricanes this year, or at most two.<\/p>\n Already, 2026 was forecast to have lower-than-average storm generation, and that has been reduced even further with the latest forecasts from the NOAA and other weather groups.<\/p>\n An average year would see 14 named storms and seven hurricanes, with three of those growing to Category 3 strength or higher.<\/p>\n \t\t\t