11 News has reporters along the Texas Gulf Coast keeping an eye on Dolly and the situation in South Texas. They are joined by amateur hurricane chasers Jay Carnes and Mike Millo.

5:00 p.m. Things happen for reason

We were a bit upset that the storm surge prevented us from getting back to the southern area of Padre Island and our hotel room.  We certainly did not care to sit in a van and wait out the surge for three hours, but had we stayed in our hotel, who knows what would have happened?  By the time we got back, our hotel was recognizable as a shell only.  Portions of the roof had collapsed, trees and the cabana by the pool had blown over, and nearly all rooms were missing windows. Curtains were blowing, glass was everywhere and the guests who were there for a vacation were displaced.  Our room was on the 4^th floor and without electricity; we had to resort to our emergency hurricane preparedness kit.  Jay pulled out some “head” lights and like coal miners, up the stairs to gather our belongings we ventured.  Jay looked at the maintenance man and shockingly asked, “when did all of his happen?”  The maintenance man proudly exclaimed, “today.”  We laughed.  With no power and wet clothing, we decided to make our way out of South Padre Island and find dry land.  We are currently in Harlingen where the storm is wreaking havoc. The businesses are closed but the power is on. The GPS Queen is telling us that we should be back in the Texas City area at 11:13..      

Posted by storm chasers Jay Carnes and Mike Millo

4:45 p.m. Help!

MIKE MILLO & JAY CARNES

The South Padre Island Convention Center was heavily damaged.

In our quest for the Eye of Dolly, we  found ourselves in the wrath of the storm surge coming from the Bay. At the point that we could no longer see the stripes in the road we turned back and found higher ground and stopped. The intensity of the surge was such that we had to move three times before finally parking one mile from the end of Hwy 100. The winds continued and rain pounded. We were stuck in the car for three hours. Life’s little pleasures, such as going to the bathroom, became an issue. Somehow, we managed. Thank goodness for technology.  We monitored our internet and then contact our powers that be who reassured us that storm surges rise and then subside. Our estimated time out of the surge was 6 p.m., It is now 4 and we are grateful to be able to bring you more images.  We have passed only one truck on our journey back into South Padre Island’s tourist area.  More blogging...more images and photos to come....

Posted by storm chasers Jay Carnes and Mike Millo

12:40 p.m. In the eye of Dolly

At this time, we are the only fools brave enough to drive north to catch the Eye of the Dolly. When we say only, we mean ONLY.

MIKE MILLO & JAY CARNES

Storm chasers Mike Millo, left, and Jay Carnes ready to face the eye of the hurricane.

There are no other cars on Padre Blvd. Hwy 100. We are north of all of the Hotels on South Padre Island. 

We have dodged downed power lines, storm surges, and floods, detoured through parking lots, cross-referenced the radar with the GPS Queen. We have even barreled through two -- yes two roadblocks. In fact, we just saw a sign that said that the road ends in 500 feet. The wind and rain has stopped.

The GPS Queen tells us that our coordinates are North 26 and West 97. We have consulted with the powers that be and they informed us that the western eye wall has passed us and the center is coming. There is a hint of sun and the birds are flying. Now we have to make our way back into the southern portion of the eye...back into the storm.

Look out for those power lines!!!

Posted by storm chasers Mike Millo and Jay Carnes

Editor's note: Jay Carnes is an amateur hurricane chaser who has followed after 11 storms, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The funeral home owner has been fascinated by hurricanes ever since he was 15-years-old and "chased" Hurricane Alicia in his hometown of Galveston in 1983. He is joined on the chase of Dolly by Mike Millo who is on his first storm chase.

11:51 a.m., South Padre Island

MIKE MILLO

Dolly's 100 mph winds knocked down this sign on South Padre Island.

We have taken another tour of Padre Island and with the eye nearing the shore, there is still only minimal debris and destruction.  The wind meter indicates that Dolly is sending a 62MPH wind constant with an 80MPH gust.  Curently blogging from a parking garage..at least we are dry...we can see trees waving and shingles flying.  Our van is rocking!  On the streets there are few cars and only one convenient store seemed to be open.  Mike needed some Tums because of the Migas that he ate at the hotel this morning.  Only after several bites was he informed that they were made with habanero peppers.  Because of our quest to find good images, we did not stop.  The worst seems to be upon us a this moment....I am not talking about the heartburn... I should stop typing and get out the cameras.

We’ll check back. 

Posted by storm chasers Mike Millo and Jay Carnes

10:20 a.m., South Padre Island

Let’s say it’s breezy. It is tough to type with prune wrinkled fingers…but here goes.  It seems as if the worst of the wind from Dolly has gone right over us. Out on the streets there is no traffic except for the occasional emergency vehicle.

This is probably the last note for a bit as we have just lost power in large parts of the island.

There has been an apartment collapse at a condo just of Padre Blvd. No one hurt there but the residents told me it came with no warning.

No creaking or anything like that, just a big boom that they thought was a thunder clap…until they looked out the window and saw that the roof section above six units had come down.

In one section taking the stairway to the top floor down too. Other that that there seems to be minimal wind damage…some heavy ponding on the roadways but at this point it could be much worse. More to come...

Posted by 11 News reporter Jeremy Desel

6:00 a.m., South Padre Island

We asked to change to a beach front room.  This was a great idea...in theory...until we tried to open the balcony door and the glass was severed from its frame. 

What we have is a a pane of glass that will not close or lock providing a barrier between us and Dolly.  Nonetheless, we slept.  Glass rattling and wind beginning to howl, we managed to rest for a few hours.  

At this time, we have requested another room and are now in the process of moving.  Hopefully the new room will have an air conditioner that works...Works, that is, until the power goes out. 

Photos and videos should be available in a few hours...The natural lights are still off.

Posted by storm chasers Jay Carnes and Mike Millo

11:30 p.m. South Padre

We have had a change of plan, the Internet connection is sloooooooooooooow and the camera phone seems to work for video.

Jay Carnes

Hurricane Chaser Mike Millo holds a piece of fence that is the first victim of the winds from Hurricane Dolly. Even though winds were barely at 30 MPH, the fence was blown over late Tuesday night.

Albeit not the best quality, it will be somewhat instantaneous. We have experienced our first casualty.  The fence surrounding our hotel is simply not going to make it.  

The center section is gone and even though the winds are currently at a whopping 30 MPH, barely tropical depression force, the rest of the fence is swaying profusely.  We are not sure if this is considered looting, but we feel compelled to bring home a souvenir. We will update you on the fence as the winds hit 50 MPH. Because it is not going to make it.

Posted by storm chasers Jay Carnes and Mike Millo

Editor's note: Jay Carnes is an amateur hurricane chaser who has followed after 11 storms, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The funeral home owner has been fascinated by hurricanes ever since he was 15-years-old and "chased" Hurricane Alicia in his hometown of Galveston in 1983. He is joined on the chase of Dolly by Mike Millo who is on his first storm chase.

10:20 p.m. South Padre Island

We arrived into South Padre Island and not a drop of rain nor an inkling of wind. 

Mike Millo

Mike and Jay arrive in South Padre. No Hurricane Dolly yet, no winds and not much rain. Bummer.

We have since checked into the hotel.  No surprise to us was the fact that our hotel is infested with camera and news crews from all over the country.  Also staying at this hotel is the entire hotel staff. We are a bit disenchanted that the air conditioning is not working in the lobby but as the storm approaches, all they have to do is open the front door and presto -- instant air flow. 

As we were checking in, we were required to sign a waiver indicating that we knew that a hurricane was approaching....Duh!!! At this moment, we are loading our computer and hope to be able to have video shortly. Still not much to report aside from a small bit of wind and a light shower.

Mike is off to hang with the crew from CNN and have a refreshing beverage. Jay will enjoy a fattening dessert.

We'll be back...

Posted by storm chasers Jay Carnes and Mike Millo

Editor's note: Jay Carnes is an amateur hurricane chaser who has followed after 11 storms, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The funeral home owner has been fascinated by hurricanes ever since he was 15-years-old and "chased" Hurricane Alicia in his hometown of Galveston in 1983. He is joined on the chase of Dolly by Mike Millo who is on his first storm chase.

6:15 p.m. Two hours from Padre

Mike Millo

A snapshot of the Hurricane Chaser's GPS screen as Jay and Mike make their way towards South Padre.

Posted by Jay Carnes and Mike Millo

Editor's note: Jay Carnes is an amateur hurricane chaser who has followed after 11 storms, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The funeral home owner has been fascinated by hurricanes ever since he was 15-years-old and "chased" Hurricane Alicia in his hometown of Galveston in 1983. He is joined on the chase of Dolly by Mike Millo who is on his first storm chase.

We didn’t have to wait long for that eerie feeling. Coming into  Port Arthur about 2:30 p.m. you could see the St. Elizabeth Causeway heading to and from South Padre Island. Dead stop. Cars, trucks, and trailers all fulling the bridge trying to get off the Island. Just a trickle of cars including us going across to the island. In Port Isabel, it is a virtual shutdown. No business open and virtually everything already boarded up. The folks that we did talk to there suggested that they were going to be evacuating as soon as they got things all locked up. On the Island it is a different story. Full beaches and plenty of activity. At least people activity. Very few businesses except for the hotels are open. The hotels all say they will be remaining open through the storm. As always seems to happen several folks came up to us to ask if we thought they should stay. What do you say to that? I can’t make any decisions like that for anybody. The only answer you can give is what the storm is expected to do and let people figure that out for themselves. More to come after some TV work at 5 and 6.

Posted by 11 News reporter Jeremy Desel

2:21 p.m., Houston enroute for South Padre

11 News

Jay Carnes, left, and Mike Millo are amateur hurricane chasers who are blogging from the Texas Coast as they chase after Hurricane Dolly.

It is 2:21 p.m. and we are leaving Houston for Brownsville. The "GPS Queen" (if you have one, you know what we are talking about) suggests that we will arrive at our hotel in South Padre at 8:13 p.m.  People who know that we are going are already texting and calling.  

We will update this blog with weather conditions. It is our plan to assist KHOU.com with visuals of the weather and any incidents that may occur. 

We’ll check back.

Posted by storm chasers Jay Carnes and Mike Millo

Editor's note: Jay Carnes is an amateur hurricane chaser who has followed after 11 storms, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The funeral home owner has been fascinated by hurricanes ever since he was 15-years-old and "chased" Hurricane Alicia in his hometown of Galveston in 1983. He is joined on the chase of Dolly by Mike Millo who is on his first storm chase.

The first rains from Dolly are beginning to fall. That’s plenty motivating for folks that are lined up at the Home Depot off Highway 77. We are stopping here on our way to South Padre Island, just in time it appears. The store received two truckloads of plywood and supplies just now and those are expected to sell out quickly. There is one more final shipment that is expected to arrive about 4:30 p.m. and that will be it. There are much more preparations being done by folks here as opposed to in Corpus Christi where we were this morning. There it is more like nothing is happening. Here you see plenty of boarded up homes and businesses and long lines for water ice and other essentials. There are no official evacuations for the mainland and most folks we talked to suggest they are planning to stay and ride out the storm. The only exception is if there were to be major changes in the intensification of the storm. Most say they will be leaving if the storm reaches the category three stage. In about one half hour we will be getting to South Padre. What is a little surprising is that we have not seen a significant amount of traffic heading out of this area. One of the things that almost always strikes me going to cover a storm like this is the uncomfortable feeling you get seeing packed roads heading out of an area that you are driving to. Not this time I’m not sure if that means that folks aren’t taking this storm very seriously or if people are just prepared to ride out a category one or two storm. I guess we’ll see. More to come.

Posted by 11 News reporter Jeremy Desel