Tropical storm Sara makes landfall in Honduras, brings heavy rain to region

Tropical Storm Sara made landfall in northern Honduras late Thursday and threatened to dump torrential rains across parts of Central America and southern Mexico.

Sara hit land about 105 miles (165 kilometers) west-northwest of the Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Honduras-Nicaragua border, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. That is near Brus Laguna, a village of about 13,000 inhabitants. There are few other population centers nearby.

Mexican authorities warned it could cause intense rains over the resort-studded Yucatan Peninsula.

Sara had winds of about 45 miles per hour (75 kph) and was moving west at about 10 miles per hour (17 kph).

It was expected to remain roughly on that path before heading out to sea again and threatening the coast of Belize.

The center said that along the way Sara was forecast to drop 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain, even up to 30 inches (75 centimeters) in isolated areas. Such heavy rain could lead to life-threatening flooding and landslides.

Sara was forecast to pass over or very near the tourist destination of Roatan off Honduras' coast on Sunday. The storm was then expected to turn northwesterly toward Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula.