Tropical Storm Sara tracker: System bringing heavy rain and 'catastrophic' flooding to parts of Central America

Tropical Storm Sara is "meandering" off the coast of Honduras, bringing heavy rain, “catastrophic” flooding and mudslides to portions of Central America, forecasters say.

Sara is the 18th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. This season, 11 of the previous 17 named storms have developed into hurricanes.

Where is the storm now, and where is it headed?

According to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center, Sara is about 30 miles south-southwest of Isla Guanaja, Honduras, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and moving west at just 2 mph.

"On the forecast track, the center of Sara will continue to move close to the northern coast of Honduras through early Saturday before approaching Belize, and ultimately moving onshore in Belize during the day on Sunday," the hurricane center said. "Some slight strengthening is possible over the next couple of days as long as Sara remains offshore."

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward 105 miles from the storm's center, the NHC noted.

Watches and warnings

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the following areas:

• The northern coast of Honduras

• The Bay Islands of Honduras

• The Caribbean Sea coast of Guatemala

• The coast of Belize from Belize City to the Belize-Guatemala border

The NHC said it expects heavy rainfall will cause "significant, life-threatening" flash flooding and mudslides across portions of Central America, and particularly in northern Honduras.

"Through early next week, rainfall amounts of 15 to 25 inches with isolated storm totals around 35 inches area expected over northern Honduras," forecasters said. "This rainfall will lead to widespread areas of life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides."

Sara is expected to produce five to 10 inches of rain with localized totals around 15 inches across the rest of Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, eastern Guatemala, western Nicaragua and the Mexican State of Quintana Roo.

What are the chances it will affect the U.S.?

Sara has the potential to make an impact on the Gulf Coast, including Florida, but officials have not issued any warnings as of yet.

"It is too soon to determine what impacts the system could bring to portions of the eastern Gulf of Mexico, including Florida, the Florida Keys and Cuba, during the middle portion of next week," the hurricane center said early Thursday. "Residents in these areas should regularly monitor updates to the forecast."