Belize issues warnings as Tropical Storm Sara scrapes along Honduran coast, bringing heavy rain

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, dousing Honduras’ northern coast with heavy rain.

Sustained rain fell overnight in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, but there were no signs of serious flooding yet.

Sara was forecast to drop 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain, with up to 30 inches (75 centimeters) in isolated areas in northern Honduras. The heavy rain could lead to life-threatening flooding and landslides, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Sara hit land late Thursday about 105 miles (165 kilometers) west-northwest of the Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Honduras-Nicaragua border, the National Hurricane Center reported. That is near Brus Laguna, a village of about 13,000 inhabitants. There are few other population centers nearby.

But Sara moved back out into the Caribbean overnight and by Friday morning it was located just south of the island of Roatan, a small-scale tourism destination.

The hurricane center said the storm was located about 175 miles (280 kilometers) east-southeast of Belize City and was moving west at 5 mph (7 kph), with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph).

The storm was expected to continue to slow down and possibly strengthen slightly, but remain roughly on that path and threaten Belize’s coast over the weekend.

The storm was then expected to turn northwesterly and drench Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. But forecasters said it probably won’t reemerge into the Gulf after crossing the Yucatan.

“What remains of the system when it emerges into 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 “intense rains” over the resort-studded Yucatan Peninsula.