Tropical Storm Sara will bring heavy rain to Central America through early next week, and it is expected to weaken and dissipate over the Yucatan Peninsula.

As of 9 a.m. CST, Tropical Storm Sara was located near 17.1 N and 88.4 W, or about 30 miles south-southwest of Belize City, moving west-northwest at 6 mph. Sara has just made landall, holding maximum sustained winds of 40 mph with a minimum central pressure of 1001 mb, or 29.56 inches of mercury.

Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect along the Caribbean coast from Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico through the entirety of the Carribean coasts of Belize and Guatemala.

Tropical Storm Sara has struggled to intensify thanks to its interaction with the mountainous terrain of Central America. However, the flip side of this has been very heavy rainfall across northwestern Honduras, where totals could reach 30 inches, if not higher. Additionally, rain totals of 10 to 20 inches from Sara are expected through most tropical storm warning areas.

Heavy rain and gusty winds will be found across the southern Yucatan, with the land mass likely to rip apart Sara's circulation. Whatever remains of Sara as it exits the Yucatan is questionable, but some of its moisture could bend northeastward across the Gulf, pair up with a cold front and bring moderate to heavy rain to Florida during the middle of next week.

Thus far, the Atlantic tropics have tallied 18 named storms to go along with 11 hurricanes and five “major” (Category 3 or stronger) hurricanes, all of which are well above average. Although the hurricane season “officially” ends on November 30, numerous storms have formed in the tail end of November and challenged Santa Claus for December superiority. Keep checking WeatherBug for the latest on the tropics throughout the year.

Tropical Storm Sara Makes Belize Landfall