Tropical Storm Sara hits Central America with torrential rain as forecasters warn of potentially deadly flash floods Blogging Sole

Tropical Storm Sara The hurricane slammed into the Caribbean coast of northern Honduras on Friday morning, dumping torrential rain on parts of Central America and southern Mexico after making landfall overnight.

Sara made landfall about 105 miles west-northwest of Cabo Gracias a Dios, on the Honduras-Nicaragua border, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. It is near Brus Laguna, a village of around 13,000 inhabitants. There are a few other population centers nearby.

At dawn, the center reported the storm was about 205 miles east-southeast of Belize City and moving westward at a speed of 9 mph, with strong winds sustained maximums of 50 mph.

The storm was expected to remain approximately on this trajectory before returning to sea and threatening the coasts of Belize.

Sara was expected to pass over or very close to the tourist destination of Roatan, off the coast of Honduras, on Sunday. The storm was then expected to track northwest toward Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula.

Mexican authorities have warned it could bring “intense rain” to the resort-rich Yucatan Peninsula.

Sara was forecast to fall 10 to 20 inches of rain, with up to 30 inches in isolated areas of northern Honduras. In a Updated at 7 a.m. Eastern TimeThe hurricane center said “heavy rain, life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides” were possible throughout the weekend in Central America.

Sara – the 18th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season – is expected to linger in the Caribbean through the weekend and slowly move toward the Gulf of Mexico early next week. After that, his path is less clear. Nikki Nolan, a CBS News meteorologist, said many models now tend to dissipate either after it enters the Gulf of Mexico or over Mexico, but several of them are still targeting it in Florida.

“Florida residents should closely monitor forecast updates as they arrive,” Nolan advised.

Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30, with peak activity generally between mid-August and mid-October. An average season brings 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which predicted the 2024 season would produce “above average” numbers.