Historically, the Brownsville, Texas area is impacted by tropical cyclones less frequently than most locations along the Gulf of Mexico; about once every five years the region experiences a tropical storm, and about once every 11 years, a hurricane.

The societal vulnerability and response to tropical cyclones in the Lower Rio Grande Valley has been investigated relative to the predictability, forewarning, storm intensity and duration of tropical cyclones. The amount and type of preparation was evaluated in terms of the primary language spoken and geographical location. The recent landfall of Hurricane Dolly will be presented as a specific example of hurricane response by, and impacts to, the residents of the area.

Some of the specific questions addressed in this study were: How do the temporal aspects of hurricanes (warning lead time, duration, and frequency) relate to the response of the communities in terms of hurricane preparedness? Are there any differences in hurricane preparedness between English-speaking communities and Spanish-speaking communities? Are there geographical differences in hurricane preparedness across the Lower Rio Grande Valley? What aspects of the hurricane forecast lead people to take more seriously storm preparations?