Saturday, November 16

Tropical Storm Sara slammed into Honduras yesterday, and it continues to batter Central America with heavy rain, strong winds, and dangerous landslides.

Sara began as a tropical depression in the southern Caribbean Sea, quickly moving westward with minimal strengthening. Hurricane season normally comes to a close in November, as water temperatures drop below the levels needed to fuel tropical development. However, due to climate change, waters are staying unusually warm through November and even December, allowing tropical storms to form extremely late in the season.

Sara slightly strengthened to a tropical storm before it made a brief landfall in the northeast corner of Honduras, bringing heavy rain and moderate winds of around 45 mph. The winds were not expected to be much of an issue, but the rain poses a serious threat to the entire region. Mountains cover around 82% of Honduras, consisting of countless small peaks and steep slopes that are covered in a thick layer of rainforest. Guatemala and El Salvador are also covered in forested mountains, and the neighboring country of Belize also contains a small mountain range. This makes Central American countries exceedingly vulnerable to landslides and mudslides, which can obliterate villages in a matter of seconds.

Widespread totals across Honduras have already surpassed 20 inches of rain, with localized totals expected to reach as high as 30 inches. Other countries like Guatemala, El Salvador, and Belize could also see over a foot of rain as Sara travels northwest through the area. Tropical storm alerts were put into place across Honduras prior to Sara's arrival, and similar alerts are also in place for the other regions in the storm's path.

The storm is currently north of Honduras, heading towards Belize. It is expected to make a second landfall sometime tomorrow morning before moving through Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. Earlier forecasts had expected Sara to cross the Yucatán and emerge into the Gulf of Mexico, but updated projections have shown that it may be more likely that the storm simply fizzles out over land. In addition, supposing the storm does emerge into the Gulf, it would likely dissipate quickly due to high wind shear and lower water temperatures at this time of year.

Sara is just the latest in a strong, busy Atlantic hurricane season that has been unpredictable and deadly. It is the 18th named storm to form in the Atlantic in 2024, and the third to form in November. November storms are rare, with approximately one November tropical storm every other year and one November hurricane every three years. This year, though, there have been two tropical storms and one hurricane-- the latter of which was Rafael, which battered Cuba last week with winds of over 115 mph and heavy rain.

Unfortunately, with climate change, hurricane season will continue to get longer and longer, leading to more frequent, stronger storms every year. A prime example of this was seen during the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, where a staggering 30 named storms formed-- amongst them were 14 hurricanes, 7 of which were major hurricanes (Category 3 or above). By comparison, an average season contains 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): A bee has to visit two million flowers in order to generate just one pound of honey.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. (Benjamin Franklin)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Cachet (noun)- Cachet is used as a synonym of prestige to refer to the respect and admiration someone or something receives for being successful or important. It can also be used to refer to a characteristic feature or quality that confers such prestige.

In a Sentence: His research in Antarctica gave him a certain cachet among other scientists.