Tropical Storm Sara made landfall in Honduras on Thursday evening. Its center of circulation is forecast to track along the coastline into the weekend.
The system is no longer a threat to Florida and is expected to dissipate over the Yucatán Peninsula.
Forecasters fear that the late-season tropical system swirling over the Caribbean Sea will unleash life-threatening and potentially catastrophic impacts in Central America, including flash flooding and mudslides.
Government officials in Honduras have been urging residents living along the banks of rivers and in other low-lying areas to prepare for an onslaught of rainfall and potential flooding.
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Travel around the region has also been impacted. Airports in Roatan and La Ceiba have suspended all operations until at least 6 p.m Friday, according to government officials. Both American Airlines and United Airlines offered to waive some fees associated with changing flights.
Cruise lines are also telling passengers with upcoming itineraries in the area to keep tabs on the forecast.
“Carnival Cruise Line’s Fleet Operations Center in Miami is actively monitoring the disturbance in the Caribbean,” a spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Lines said in an email to FOX Weather. “Guests are encouraged to opt-in to text alerts when checking in for upcoming cruises and to monitor emails.”
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Sara is located northwest of the border between Honduras and Nicaragua and has maximum sustained winds of around 50 mph. When the center of Sara moves over water to the north of Honduras during the next couple of days, some slight strengthening is possible.
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On the forecast track, the center of Sara will continue to move close to the northern coast of Honduras through early Saturday, then approach the coast of Belize early Sunday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
Forecasters said that feet of rain could fall in portions of Honduras through early next week as the system meanders over the area.
Over northern Honduras, rainfall totals of 10-20 inches, with locally higher amounts of 30 inches, are expected.
“This rainfall will lead to widespread areas of life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides, especially along and near the Sierra La Esperanza,” the NHC warned Friday.
Other parts of Honduras, as well as Belize, El Salvador, eastern Guatemala and western Nicaragua, could see 5-10 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts of 15 inches, through early next week.
Along the northern coast of Honduras, a storm surge of 1-3 feet is possible in areas of onshore winds, and the region should also expect large and destructive waves at the beach.
The good news for those monitoring the storm in the U.S. is that the long range forecast is nowhere near as imposing for Sara as it was even just a day ago.
Earlier forecasts had Sara staying farther out in the warm Caribbean waters, allowing for further development and potentially eyeing Florida as a major storm next week.
However, new forecasts on Thursday now indicate Sara will spend considerably more time near or over land this weekend, significantly dimming its prospects for future strengthening.
