Hello Dolly

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SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (CNN) -- Tropical Storm Dolly strengthened Tuesday in the western Gulf of Mexico and was nearing hurricane strength as it moved toward southern Texas, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said.


Michael Gorsline boards up windows Monday at his home in Corpus Christi, Texas.

1 of 3 At 2 p.m. ET the storm, with winds near 70 mph, was centered about 195 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas.

Residents in that city were preparing for the storm, according to Brownsville Police spokesman Jimmy Manrrique.

"The citizens here are reacting very well. They've stocked up on their supplies," Manrrique told CNN. "At this point we're preparing for a lot of rain and some wind damage."

Dolly should be very near Brownsville and other cities on the western coast of the Gulf of Mexico by Wednesday, forecasters said.

"All odds are now that we're looking at Category 1 hurricane on the Texas coast by midday Wednesday," said Bill Read, director of the hurricane center.

A Category 1 hurricane carries sustained winds between 74 mph and 95 mph. iReport.com: Are you ready for hurricane season?

The storm was moving to the west-northwest at around 10 mph, but was expected to gradually turn toward the northwest by Wednesday. Dolly's forward motion was forecast to slow down, giving it more time to intensify over the warm Gulf waters. See Dolly's projected path »

Hurricane warnings that were in effect from north of Corpus Christi, Texas, to Port O'Conner were downgraded to tropical storm warnings by 11 a.m.