Tropical Storm Sara could cause ‘life-threatening’ damage as experts warn of US impact

Tropical Storm Sara could cause “life-threatening” devastation in parts of Central America after forming in the Caribbean Sea.

The system, which strengthened into a tropical depression on Thursday, is closing in on Honduras and will eventually head into the Gulf of Mexico.

While it’s too soon to determine what impact, if any, Sara will have on Florida or other parts of the US, forecasters say it could bring rain and flooding concerns.

“We now expect this storm to spend more time over land in Central America,” AccuWeather meteorologist Jon Porter said in a statement. “That will reduce the strength of the wind before it reaches the Gulf of Mexico. This storm could be pulled northeast by an outflow area of ​​high pressure over Florida. A dip in the jet stream over the central US will create a path for this storm to be shot toward Florida.”

“We’ve seen heavy rain and concern for flooding in parts of central and southern Florida next week. Florida does not need additional hurricane impacts. Many people are still recovering and trying to rebuild the areas devastated by the storms earlier this year.”

In the event that the storm is severely disrupted from its connection with land and prevented from strengthening, the US may see little or no impacts.

“We cannot rule out the possibility that this storm could strengthen into a tornado if we can avoid interacting with the earth for a long time. A matter of miles can make a big difference,” said Porter.

However, the depression will produce life-threatening and potentially dangerous flash floods and mudslides in Honduras over the weekend, bringing between 10 and 20 inches of rain to northern parts of the country.

In parts of Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, eastern Guatemala, and western Nicaragua, Sara is expected to produce 5 to 10 inches of rain, with some areas seeing as much as 15 inches. Then it is expected to linger in parts of Central America for the next few days, and the associated storm surge could raise water levels there three feet above normal levels along the coast.

The tropical storm is moving westward near 14 miles per hour, and is forecast to hover near the coast through the weekend before turning northeast toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Sara, which was moving about 65 kilometers northeast of the east coast of Nicaragua and the Honduran border, has sustained winds of 40 kilometers per hour. Tropical storms usually have sustained winds between 39 and 73 miles per hour.