Sara has fallen to a tropical depression by noon Sunday after making landfall as a tropical storm in Belize and dumping “tremendous amounts of rain” across Central America, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Sara is predicted to continue to weaken before reaching the Gulf of Mexico within the following day, forecasters said Sunday morning.
Though the storm is not predicted to have a substantial impact on Louisiana, NHC forecasters warned a “moisture plume” connected with Sara’s leftovers might contribute to heavy rainfall along the United States Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle on Tuesday.
The National Weather Service of New Orleans predicts a moderate chance of flash flooding in the New Orleans metro region, the north shore, and along the Mississippi coast between 7 a.m. Tuesday to the same time Wednesday. Forecasters predict a couple of inches of rain across parts of southeast Louisiana on Tuesday, with potentially heavy rains.
Sara was located roughly 55 miles west of Belize City at midday on Sunday. It was producing persistent winds of 35 mph and moving west-northwest at roughly 8 mph, according to NHC forecasters.
Over the next day or so, the storm is predicted to continue dumping torrential rain, causing life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides in Belize, El Salvador, eastern Guatemala, western Nicaragua, and Quintana Roo, Mexico.
According to forecasters, Sara has brought massive rainfall totals to Honduras, with some areas receiving more than 40 inches.