Tropical Storm Sara has caused significant disruption across Central America in recent days after forming in the Caribbean Sea on Thursday afternoon. It is the 18th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and the third this month. The large number of tropical storm and hurricane formations this season can be attributed to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico being warmer than average, thus providing more energy for the development and intensification of these systems.
Since its formation, Sara has affected Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Belize and Guatemala, bringing heavy rainfall, widespread flooding and landslides. The slow-moving nature of the storm has exacerbated the damage, prolonging the duration of its impact. However, Sara is losing strength; initially it had sustained winds of 45mph on Thursday but weakened slightly after moving inland, with winds dropping to 40mph by Sunday. According to the National Hurricane Centre, Sara is expected to dissipate into an area of low pressure as it moves north-west toward the southern region of the Yucatan peninsula on Monday.
Meanwhile, Super Typhoon Man-yi – known locally as Pepito – made a second landfall on the Philippines’ main island of Luzon on Saturday and has caused severe damage. Heavy rainfall totals have reached over 130mm within 24 hours, causing widespread flooding and disastrous mudslides. Man-Yi is the sixth typhoon of the month, with maximum sustained winds in excess of 120mph. The typhoon is forecasted to track north-westwards towards China in the next few days, and begin to dissipate in the South China Sea. However, the low pressure system may bring strong winds and high rainfall totals on Tuesday and Wednesday, potentially over 60mm in places, to south-eastern China, affecting cities near the coast, including Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Maoming.
In the US in the past week, Louisiana has experienced significant rainfall, causing widespread flash flooding across central and south-east regions of the state. Further heavy rainfall is expected across regions bordering the Gulf of Mexico over the coming days. Rainfall totals for the 24-hour period leading into Tuesday could exceed 100mm in Alabama and southern Mississippi. Louisiana may get nearly 80mm and parts of north-western Florida could receive more than 60mm. The heavy rainfall is due to a low-pressure system creating a sharp temperature contrast between cold and warm air, causing instability and intense rainfall.