New Tropical Storm Sara Likely to Develop in Caribbean, Here's How It Could Impact Florida

A new tropical storm may make landfall in Florida next week, according to AccuWeather meteorologists.

Thunderstorms have begun to gather over a large portion of the Caribbean. "It will likely not be much longer until a tropical rainstorm forms and continues to organize into a tropical storm,” AccuWeather chief on-air meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. The system would be named Tropical Storm Sara.

If the system doesn’t make landfall in Central America and remains in the western Caribbean region with warmer water, it could become a hurricane.

"Not only does this have a significant chance of becoming a hurricane, but it may become a major hurricane very quickly," AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said. "There are multiple scenarios with the feature in the Caribbean that are tied to the speed of development and track early on that could affect land areas with landfall and direct impacts later on.”

Sara could then start heading northwest and hit the western Caribbean Sea by early next week. As a result, that could bring the storm near the Yucatan Peninsula or western Cuba and then by Tuesday, Nov. 19, into the Gulf of Mexico.

It is predicted to pick up speed and turn east, meaning “a potentially significant hurricane impact could” hit parts of Cuba, the Florida Keys and the southern part of the Florida Peninsula on Wednesday, Nov. 20, per AccuWeather.

If the storm does make landfall, it could cause flash flooding and strong wind gusts, potentially impacting people’s lives, power and properties. 

Residents in Central America, southeastern Mexico, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas and Florida are advised to monitor Sara’s evolution over the next few days.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami is also monitoring the system. "Interests across the western and northwestern Caribbean Sea should monitor the progress of this system. Regardless of development, heavy rains are expected over Jamaica and portions of Haiti during the next day or so," the NHC notes, adding that there is a 90% chance of formation through the next seven days.

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Although hurricane season averages around seven storms a year, Sara would be the 12th of the season. The news of Sara would follow the growing number of fatalities from both Hurricane Helene, which killed at least 230 people, and Hurricane Milton, which killed at least 24 people.

Both storms began in the western Caribbean Sea and then headed to Florida. Helene, a Category 4 storm, also severely impacted Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. Meanwhile, Milton, a Category 3 storm, hit Savannah, Ga.; Tybee Island, Ga.; Hilton Head, S.C.; and Charleston Harbor, S.C.