Tropical Storm Sara batters Central America with torrential rains as forecasters warn of life-threatening flooding

Belize has issued tropical storm warnings for the Central American country's coast on Friday as Tropical Storm Sara stationed in the western Caribbean, it drenched the northern coast of Honduras with heavy rain.

Heavy rain fell overnight in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, with no signs of severe flooding.

Sara was forecast to drop 10 to 20 inches of rain, with up to 30 inches in isolated areas in northern Honduras. Heavy rain could cause life-threatening flooding and landslides, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

The weather occurred Thursday afternoon about 105 miles west-northwest of Cabo Gracias a Dios, on the Honduras-Nicaragua border, the center reported. That's close to Brus Laguna, a town of about 13,000 residents. Few other places have close populations.

In its latest update Friday night, the hurricane center said the storm was “producing heavy rain that is causing potentially catastrophic flooding and mudslides in parts of Central America.” It was located 35 miles southwest of Honduras' Guanaja Island and 155 miles southeast of Belize City, with sustained winds of 50 mph. Its movement had stopped and it was considered stationary.

The center of Sara was expected to move along the northern coast of Honduras until Saturday and make landfall in Belize on Sunday, the hurricane center said.

It was then expected to turn northwest toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, although forecasters said it was unlikely to re-enter the Gulf after crossing the Yucatan.

“The remainder of the system as it emerges from the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico is not conducive to redevelopment,” the hurricane center said in an earlier advisory.

Mexican authorities have warned that “torrential rains” could result in the heavily populated Yucatan Peninsula.

Tropical storm warnings were in place for the northern coast of Honduras and its Bay Islands, the coast of Belize, the Caribbean Sea coast of Guatemala and the coast of Mexico from Puerto Costa Maya south to Chetumal.

In November 2020, Eta and Iota passed through Honduras after making landfall in Nicaragua as powerful Category 4 hurricanes. Northern Honduras experienced the worst of the storm with heavy rains that caused flooding that left hundreds of thousands stranded. Eta alone had about 30 centimeters of rain along the northern coast.

Sarah, 18 called a storm of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, is expected to remain in the Caribbean over the weekend and slowly move into the Gulf of Mexico early next week. After that, its path is not clear. CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan said most of the models now tend to perish after entering the Gulf of Mexico or Mexico, but a few still have them heading toward Florida.

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

Atlantic Hurricane Season it officially runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, with activity usually peaking between August and mid-October. The average season brings 14 named hurricanes, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which predicted the 2024 season will produce “above average” numbers.