Tropical Storm Dolly likely to form today, hurricane center says

Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel on Aug 27, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

ORLANDO, Fla. — The National Hurricane Center on Thursday said Tropical Storm Dolly could form today in the Atlantic, but it may not last that long.

As of the NHC’s 8 a.m. tropical outlook, an area of low pressure dubbed Invest 96L located about halfway between Africa and the Caribbean’s Windward Islands in the central tropical Atlantic had become more organized overnight.

“If the current trends continue, advisories could be initiated on a short-lived tropical storm later today. However, environmental conditions are expected to become hostile beginning on Friday, likely ending its chances for further development,” forecasters said.

The NHC gave it a 90% chance to develop in the next two to seven days.

After tropical storms Arthur, Bertha and Cristobal, Dolly is next on the list.

Forecast models have its path headed across the northern Caribbean islands by Sunday into early next week, but by then it may just be a disorganized low with some wind and thunderstorms.

Hurricane season began June 1 and runs through Nov. 30, but the height of hurricane season runs from mid-August through mid-October.

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.

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.

An average year would see 14 named storms and seven hurricanes, with three of those growing to Category 3 strength or higher.

-------------