Sara weakens to tropical depression but could still add to Southeast weather woes

Tropical Storm Sara's winds weakened to tropical depression status Sunday, but the weather system still pounded Central America with overwhelming rains and maintained a possible collision course with storm-battered Florida and the U.S. Southeast.

Sara could roll across the Gulf of Mexico, re-strengthen and threaten Florida with flooding rain, storm surge and damaging winds, AccuWeather said. Any damage from the storm would add to difficulties the region faces cleaning up from hurricanes Helene and Milton as the devastating 2024 hurricane season mercifully draws closer to a close.

"Some of Sara's tropical moisture will be lifted northeastward over the Gulf," said Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist. "That extra moisture can be enough to lead to flooding downpours and perhaps severe thunderstorms in Florida toward the middle of this week."

Sarah was centered about 160 miles south-southeast of Campeche, Mexico, on Sunday, driving sustained winds of 35 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Sara was picking up speed and moving to the west-northwest at 12 mph. The storm spent the last two days hugging the coast of Honduras, keeping wind speeds relatively low but driving drenching rains.

Rainfall totals in parts of Honduras were forecast to reach 15 to 25 inches ? with isolated areas seeing up to 40 inches ? before the storm moves out of the region, hurricane center specialist Philippe Papin said in an update on the storm Sunday.

"This rainfall will lead to widespread areas of life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides" in Honduras, Papin said.

Parts of Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the Mexican state of Quintana Roo should see 5 to 10 inches of rain, and localized totals around 15 inches are possible, Papin said.

Tropical Storm Sara tracker: 2 feet of rain in forecast; flooding in Honduras

Could Sara affect the US?

The path of the storm remained unclear Sunday. Sara was expected to weaken over land and lose some power before moving back over water in the Gulf of Mexico. Sara's remnants could re-strengthen and threaten Florida with flooding rain, storm surge and damaging winds, AccuWeather meteorologists say.

Papin said moisture associated with remnants of Sara could trigger rainfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle on Tuesday. But the Weather Prediction Center was forecasting only a "slight risk" for excessive rainfall, Papin said.

What began as a tropical rainstorm a week ago was upgraded Thursday to Tropical Depression 19. The system hours later strengthened into Tropical Storm Sara, becoming the 18th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which according to the calendar ends Nov. 30.

2024 hurricane season a brutal one

Sara could add to the damage already wrought this year from 11 hurricanes ? five of them considered "major" storms after reaching Category 3 strength or more. The most severe, Helene and Milton, combined for a damage totals that could approach $100 billion.

Forecasters initially warned that Sara could strengthen to hurricane status, which would have been almost unprecedented. Only three hurricanes have previously affected the U.S. or made landfall in November, one each in 1861 and 1935, and Hurricane Kate in 1985, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration records.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tropical Storm Sara tracker: System weakens to tropical depression