Dolly becomes fourth named storm of 2026 Atlantic hurricane season

Tropical Storm Dolly formed in the central Atlantic on Thursday, becoming the fourth named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, according to Fox News.

The US National Hurricane Center reported that Dolly developed around 11 a.m. Eastern Time, about 1,555 miles east of the Leeward Islands, with maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour—the minimum threshold for a tropical storm classification.

The storm is moving quickly westward across the central Atlantic. According to the center's forecast, Dolly is not expected to strengthen significantly over the next 48 hours, but is likely to weaken to a tropical wave before reaching the Leeward Islands, likely on Saturday.

However, the center warned that heavy rainfall associated with the system could cause flash flooding in parts of the Leeward Islands through Sunday, with similar impacts expected to reach the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola by Monday.

Dolly is the fourth named storm in the Atlantic this year, following Arthur, Bertha, and Cristobal.

This season, which runs from June through the end of November, has seen less activity than usual, which meteorologists attribute to the intensifying El Niño phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean.

The naming of Dolly was coincidental, coming just days after the death of American country music star Dolly Parton at the age of 80.

The World Meteorological Organization prepares a list of storm names six years in advance, arranging them alphabetically, and assigns them to storms that reach tropical storm strength in order.