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Tropical Storm in Atlantic Poses a Threat to Central America

Tropical Storm in Atlantic Poses a Threat to Central America

Tropical Storms Nana and Omar formed Tuesday in the Atlantic, and while neither will be threat to the U.S., residents in Central America could face flooding and mudslides.

Storm watches and warnings have been posted from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula to Honduras, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, as Tropical Storm Nana sweeps west out of the Caribbean. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Omar, off North Carolina, will drift into the Atlantic without menacing land.

“Tropical Storm Nana is now forecast to be a hurricane as it approaches the coast,” Stacy Stewart, a senior hurricane specialist at the center, wrote in his forecast. “Strong winds, dangerous storm surge and very heavy rainfall causing flash flooding are becoming more likely from Nana.”

Omar is 2020’s 15th storm in the Atlantic and the earliest that milestone has been reached in records going back to 1851, said Phil Klotzbach, a researcher with Colorado State University. Just under half of all storms this year have hit the U.S., including Hurricane Laura, which killed at least 16 people in Louisiana, knocked out power and potentially caused as much as $8 billion in insured losses.

A large area of high pressure pushing storms away means there isn’t an immediate chance of more threats to the Gulf of Mexico region, said Jim Rouiller, a meteorologist with the Energy Weather Group. Laura and Tropical Storm Marco’s trek through the Gulf also churned up cooler water, which inhibits storm growth.

“U.S. interests can definitely stand down on this one,” Rouiller said.

However, conditions will change and Gulf waters will quickly heat back up to the point where they can support a new storm if one should arise.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.