Hurricane and tropical storm watches have been issued for parts of Honduras and Nicaragua in the The latest update from the National Hurricane Center. The NHC said Wednesday afternoon that a disturbance in the Caribbean is likely to become the last tropical depression or storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season and is expected to “strengthen and cause life-threatening flooding over parts of Central America.”

Where is it now and where is it going?

Showers and thunderstorms associated with a broad area of ​​low pressure in the central Caribbean Sea have increased since Wednesday afternoon, according to the NHC.

“The system is expected to become a tropical storm within about a day and will bring tropical storm or hurricane conditions to land areas within the next 36 to 48 hours.” the NHC said in its latest forecast discussion.

The Honduran government has issued a hurricane warning from Punta Castilla east toward the Honduras-Nicaragua border.

The Nicaraguan government has issued a tropical storm watch from the Honduras-Nicaragua border south to Puerto Cabezas.

The NHC said early next week it expects “heavy rainfall will cause significant, life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides in parts of Central America, particularly Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, eastern Guatemala and western Nicaragua.”

The weather system could be at or near hurricane strength early next week when it is forecast to approach Belize and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

What are the chances of it becoming a tropical storm?

High. The hurricane center gave it a 90% chance of forming within 48 hours, and the same chance of forming over seven days.

If it were to reach tropical storm strength, it would become Tropical Storm Sara – the 18th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30.

The season has seen 17 named storms so far, 11 of which have developed into hurricanes.

The most recent Hurricane Rafael made landfall in Cuba last week and crossed the Gulf of Mexico, where it dissipated over the weekend.