Tropical Storm Sara formed Thursday afternoon just 50 miles east of Honduras, drifting slowly along the country's northern coast on Friday, spreading torrential rainfall across not only Honduras, but through Belize, El Salvador, eastern Guatemala, western Nicaragua, and eastern portions of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
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Rainfall totals nearing 40 inches are forecast in northern Honduras from Sara, with concerns of widespread, potentially catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides through the weekend.
As of 7 a.m. ET Friday, Goloson International Airport on the west side of La Ceiba, a port city in northern Honduras, had recorded nearly 22 inches of rain 556 mm over the past 24 hours alone, an extreme rate of rainfall only to be added to in the days ahead.
For perspective, officially only eight U.S. states have ever recorded 22 inches or more rainfall in a 24-hour period, according to NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee .
