Tropics Terminology: What You Need To Know

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Tropical Depression Sara is still moving at a snail's pace over the Yucatan Peninsula with catastrophic flooding and mudslides in parts of Central America, but the storm is not a Gulf of Mexico threat.

after making landfall over the coast of Belize and is unleashing catastrophic flooding and mudslides in parts of Central America, but the storm is not a Gulf of Mexico threat.

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Latest status: Sara made landfall over the eastern Belize coast Sunday morning after it unleashed torrential rainfall for Honduras earlier this weekend. The city of L​a Ceiba had picked up over 3 feet of rain as of early Saturday. That has already triggered major flash flooding.

Sara became the 18th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season when it formed Thursday afternoon.

Alerts issued: Tropical storm warnings have been issued for coastal parts of Central America, as depicted in the map below. A warning means those conditions are expected within 36 hours.

Strength, track in Caribbean: Sara is forecast to remain at tropical storm intensity as it slowly tracks over Belize, then northern Guatemala and eastern Mexico as a weakening storm Sunday into Monday.

Sara's lack of a core and proximity to land will keep its intensity relatively in check. The storm is forecast to dissipate after landfall as it passes over Belize and Mexico.

One danger, regardless: Sara's movement will be continue to be slow for a few days while passing through Central America. This crawl has already produced extreme rainfall with potentially catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Rainfall totals have already reached approximately 40 inches of rain in Honduras, according to the country's government.

What about the Gulf next week: Sara's land interaction with Central America means it isn't likely to survive that land journey.

The National Hurricane Center forecast shows Sara dissipated by Monday over Mexico.

S​ome of Sara's remnant moisture will eventually be drawn ahead of a cold front and could boost rainfall in parts of the Southeast, including Florida, around the middle of next week.

(For even more granular weather data tracking in your area, view your 15-minute details forecast in our Premium Pro experience.)

Typical November Tropical Activity

Hurricane season winds down during November, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see storms. This November has already produced Rafael.

In the satellite era – since 1966 – November has produced an average of one storm every one to two years and one hurricane every two to three years.

More often, parts of the Caribbean and Central America have taken hard hits from November hurricanes.

If a storm does develop in November, it's usually in the western Caribbean Sea or either the southwestern or central Atlantic.

This is because environmental factors are better suited for development. Wind shear is normally pretty low, cold fronts usually haven’t made it this far south and water temperatures are still fairly warm. All of these factors can help support storm formation.