posted July 23 -

Hurricane Dolly slammed into the lower Gulf Coast on Wednesday but sent much-needed rain showers to drought-stricken Bee County.

Forecasters said Bee County could expect rain showers throughout Wednesday and early Thursday.

“With the current track and intensity of Dolly, it appears that the impact to our area may be minimal,” said David Morgan, emergency management coordinator for Bee County. “We will still have a rain event.”

Morgan met with local law enforcement personnel on Monday to discuss what precautions to take should Dolly hit the middle Texas Coast.

Morgan called off a similar meeting scheduled for Tuesday after it became apparent that the first hurricane of the season would strike the Gulf Coast near Brownsville and spare Bee County the brunt of the storm, which was predicted to hit land as a category one hurricane.

Morgan told the Bee-Picayune on Tuesday that Dolly could still send heavy rain showers, possible embedded tornados to Bee County.

“Strong gusty winds to 50 miles per hour are possible, and power outages are not out of the question,” he said Tuesday.

However, high winds and power outages never materialized as the storm moved inland far to the south of Bee County.

Fast-moving storm clouds dumped rain on Beeville Tuesday afternoon and thunder and lightning signaled the approach of the storm.

Rain showers returned throughout the night but not as heavy as forecasters had predicted.

Morgan said he and other emergency management leaders in the county will continue to monitor the storm throughout Wednesday.

Claudette was the last hurricane to strike Bee County with any great force.

Claudette, a category 1 hurricane, roared inland on July 15, 2003, at Port O’Connor.

It left two people dead and damages exceeding $180 million.

Claudette’s track took it through Bee County where it dumped upwards of five inches of rain and high winds damaged more than 300 homes and businesses.

Claudette also knocked out power to Beeville for two or more days.

AEP, the electricity provider, asked for and received permission from the county this week to park equipment at the Expo Center in case power lines were felled in the area.

The people who run the city of Beeville also kept an eye on Dolly.

City Manager Ford Patton said city crews were out early in the week making sure drainage ditches and culverts were clear of debris. Also, some drainage ditches were being mowed Monday.

Bee County Judge David Silva said Dolly could bring much-needed moisture to Bee County, which has been in moderate to high drought conditions for most of the year.

“It looks like it’ll probably pass well to the south of us but it could send some rain our way, and we really need the moisture,” he said prior to the storm’s arrival. “Even if we receive five, six or even eight inches of rain, though, I doubt it will do much to alleviate the drought. It’s supposed to be hot and dry by Friday.”

Reporter Gary Kent contributed to this story.