Tropical Storm Sara to Bring Heavy Rain to Parts of Central America

Tropical Storm Sara officially formed on Thursday with forecasters predicting that Central America will see the impacts before it inches closer to Florida next week. Here is the latest on this potentially life-threatening tropical weather event.

Latest on Tropical Storm Sara

Tropical Storm Sara came to life Thursday afternoon over the western Caribbean. As of late Thursday, the feature was located about 50 miles to the northeast of the border of Honduras and Nicaragua. Sara is moving to the west at a speed of 10 to 15 mph with maximum sustained winds hitting 40 mph.

Tropical storm warnings and watches were issued for the coastal areas of Central America as the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warns that the system could bring dangerous flooding to the region. The mountainous terrain of this part of Central America also puts the area at risk of mudslides and rockslides.

The silver lining is that Sara is not expected to intensify into a hurricane prior to landfall. The center of circulation came together close to land, meaning that the peak wind intensity will be suppressed. However, Sara is still likely to gain a bit of wind intensity prior to coming ashore thanks to the exceptionally warm waters in this part of the Caribbean.

Interaction with the land will further limit the ability of Sara to pick up strength as it hugs the coastline of Honduras. Heavy rain is expected for the northern tier of Nicaragua and Honduras on Friday prior to the storm moving into eastern Guatemala, Belize, and southeastern Mexico by the weekend.

Forecasters are predicting widespread rainfall amounts of 8 - 12 inches in this part of Central America. The hardest hit areas of northern Honduras and Nicaragua will see rainfall of about 12 to 18 inches by the time that the storm exits.

Rainfall of this magnitude will create the risk of flash flooding and mudslides. Widespread power outages are also a possibility, especially if roads become washed out.

Sara is also expected to eventually move into the southeastern corner of Mexico. At this time, the system could lose some of its power and devolve into a tropical depression or rainstorm.