SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras — Belize issued tropical storm warnings for the Central American country’s coast on Friday as Tropical Storm Sara moved through the Caribbean, drenching the northern coast of Honduras with heavy rain.
In the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, it rained steadily overnight, but there were still no signs of serious flooding.
Sara was expected to drop between 25 and 50 centimeters of rain, and up to 75 centimeters in isolated areas of northern Honduras. According to the US National Hurricane Center, based in Miami, torrential rains could cause potentially deadly flooding and landslides.
Sara made landfall late Thursday about 165 kilometers west-northwest of Cape Gracias a Dios, on the border between Honduras and Nicaragua, the National Hurricane Center reported. That’s near Brus Laguna, a town of about 13,000 inhabitants. There are few population centers nearby.
But Sara headed back into the Caribbean overnight and by Friday morning was just south of the island of Roatán, a small tourist destination.
According to the hurricane center, the storm was about 280 km east-southeast of Belize City and was moving west at 7 km/h, with maximum sustained winds of 80 km/h.
The storm was expected to continue to slow and possibly strengthen slightly, but to remain roughly on that track and threaten the coast of Belize through the weekend.
The storm was then expected to turn northwest and soak Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. But forecasters said it probably won’t reenter the Gulf after crossing the Yucatan.
“What remains of the system when it exits the Bay of Campeche, in the Gulf of Mexico, is not very favorable for redevelopment,” according to the hurricane center.
Mexican authorities warned that it could cause “heavy rains” on the Yucatan Peninsula, full of tourist centers.
Copyright © 2024 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
