Tropical Storm Dolly erupts in Atlantic as spaghetti models warn of direct impact on US

Tropical Storm Dolly has erupted in the Atlantic Ocean, and early forecasts warn that the cyclone could be headed directly towards the US East Coast.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced that Dolly had quickly developed into a tropical storm at 11am ET on Thursday.

It jumped past the first stage of cyclone development, known as a tropical depression, bursting to life with sustained winds of more than 40 mph.

Early spaghetti models, which track all possible paths of tropical storms and hurricanes, show a strong likelihood that Dolly will barrel directly towards Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

From there, multiple tracks predict the storm will reach Cuba, the Bahamas and the coast of Florida.

One track from the American model, known as GFS, suggested that Dolly could move as far north as the Carolinas. However, forecasting models can shift dramatically once storms form and get closer to making landfall.

NHC officials have noted that Dolly may be a 'short-lived tropical storm' which encounters strong wind shear in the Atlantic that prevents it from becoming a hurricane.

However, AccuWeather forecasters warned that there is path for the cyclone to make it through the chaotic Atlantic air and even grow into a bigger storm closer the Eastern US.

AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said in a statement: 'If Dolly can survive the dry air, wind shear and land interaction near the islands, the environment does become more conducive for development and strengthening off the Southeast coast mid-to-late next week.'

Heavy rainfall is expected to begin impacting the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola this weekend.

Puerto Rico is currently ranked as having the highest risk from tropical rain and severe wind from August 27 through September 9, according to AccuWeather.

The weather service added that the entire East Coast and the Gulf Coast also face a 'low' risk of tropical rain and wind from the approaching storm, with the warning stretching from Texas to Maine.

'There is certainly a chance for this wave to bring rain to Southeastern US one way or another. The question is in what form?' DaSilva added.

The naming of Tropical Storm Dolly just days after the death of legendary singer Dolly Parton was purely coincidental, as the lists of named storms for each Atlantic hurricane season are publicly released years in advance.

The National Hurricane Center has already announced the names for tropical storms and hurricanes that could form until 2031.

While Dolly is believed to have found a narrow corridor in the Atlantic which allowed it to grow into a large, organized cyclone, meteorologists have pointed out that the impact of a 'Super' El Niño around the globe has quieted the usually busy hurricane season.

El Niño forms when the surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean becomes noticeably warmer than its historical average. A Super El Niño means those temperatures rise by more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2.0 degrees Celsius).

This flips weather patterns worldwide, causing more hurricanes to form in the Pacific while preventing storms from gathering strength in the Atlantic by causing more wind shear and drier air that tears apart the structure of cyclones.

Dolly is only the fourth named Atlantic storm to develop this year even though hurricane season officially began three months ago. Hurricane season lasts until November 30.

For comparison, there have already been 12 named storms in the Pacific this summer, including multiple storms impacting the Hawaiian islands.

This is a breaking story. More details to follow.