Heavy rains hit Jamaica, forecasters track possible “Hurricane Sara," Florida on alert

A tropical storm is expected to develop this week in the Caribbean, with forecasts expecting high-impact weather in the coming days as the end of Atlantic hurricane season winds down.

Weather experts are watching agitated conditions that could form into a tropical storm, which would be named Sara –– the 18th named storm of the season.

“A broad area of low pressure over the central Caribbean Sea continues to produce a large area of showers and thunderstorms,” said the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) in an update posted Wednesday (Nov. 13).

Regardless of development, heavy rains are expected over Jamaica during the next day or so, the agency said.

AccuWeather forecasters are saying Sara could potentially threaten Florida as a major hurricane next week.

"The potential exists for the rainstorm to intensify into a hurricane as early as Friday morning," AccuWeather forecasters said. "Further intensification is expected after that, and a Category 3 major hurricane (maximum sustained winds of 111 mph or greater) is likely to be churning in the western Caribbean this weekend."

The hurricane centre gave the storm a 90 per cent chance of forming within 48 hours, and the same formation chance through seven days.

This season has had 17 named storms so far, 11 of which have become hurricanes.

The most recent — Hurricane Rafael — made landfall in Cuba last week, crossing into the Gulf of Mexico, where it dissipated over the weekend.

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