It looks like Tropical Storm Sara will have “life-threatening” effects as it moves toward Central America.

Soon, Tropical Storm Sara will hit the Caribbean. It will have “life-threatening” effects on parts of Central America before it might get to the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is telling people along the eastern Gulf Coast, including Floridians, to keep a close eye on things because the storm could hit the United States by next week.

Sara is yet another warning of how unpredictable the Atlantic hurricane season can be. Usually, the season for tropical storms ends in November. Still, this is going to be the third named storm this month. This is because the Atlantic is very warm, which is getting worse because of climate change.

Sara is now a Tropical Depression Nineteen and is 65 miles east of the line between Honduras and Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea. Its strongest winds have been blowing for 35 miles straight. The NHC says that the storm will get stronger as it moves over the unusually warm seas of the western Caribbean. Hurricane Rafael recently moved through a similar area. Over the weekend, the storm should become a tropical storm near the northern coast of Honduras.

Warnings and getting ready in Central America

The NHC has sent out tropical storm alerts for parts of Honduras and Nicaragua as Sara gets closer. The storm is expected to bring winds and rain as early as Thursday evening, and the weather will get worse on Friday. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) says that Sara could bring up to 30 inches of rain to some parts of Honduras. Other parts of Central America are expected to get double that amount of rain. “Life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides” are more likely to happen because of the heavy rain.

The storm will also hit Belize and the Yucatán Peninsula further north. By early next week, dangerous storm waves and gusty winds could hit these areas. The government is telling people in these places to get ready for bad weather.

Possible Effects on the Eastern U.S. Coastline and the Gulf of Mexico. It’s still not clear what the storm will do to the Gulf of Mexico or if Florida, the Florida Keys, or Cuba will be in danger. Forecasters from the NHC are telling people in these places to pay close attention to updates because the outlook after this weekend is still uncertain.

There are several possible paths and levels of strength for the storm:

Hits land in Honduras: If Sara hits land in Honduras this weekend, it could get much weaker as it moves inland and loses access to the warm water that makes tropical storms stronger. Central America would get a lot of rain and strong winds in this case, but Sara might not make it to the U.S. at all, or it might get here as a weaker storm.