Tropical Storm Lisa forms in Caribbean Sea with no threat to Florida
Tropical Storm Lisa formed in the central Caribbean Sea on Halloween, becoming the 12th named storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season as it eyes parts of Central America, potentially as a hurricane, later this week.
A tropical storm is a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds between 39 and 73 mph. Once a system becomes a tropical storm, the National Hurricane Center assigns it a name from one of six rotating lists.
Forecast track for Tropical Storm Lisa
Where is Tropical Storm Lisa?
As of late Monday morning, Tropical Storm Lisa was centered less than 200 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica.
Lisa is packing maximum sustained winds of 40 mph as it moves westward across the central Caribbean Sea.
Where are watches and warnings in effect for Tropical Storm Lisa?
A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for Jamaica.
A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for Jamaica.
A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical-storm-force winds (40-plus mph) are possible in the watch area, generally within 48 hours. In this case, 40-plus-mph winds are possible in Jamaica on Halloween.
Additional watches or warnings will likely be required by Monday night for portions of Central America, particularly the coasts of Belize and the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico.
What is the forecast for Tropical Storm Lisa?
The FOX Forecast Center expects that Tropical Storm Lisa will move toward the west or west-northwest over the next few days, which means it will likely pass south of Jamaica on Halloween and south of the Cayman Islands on Tuesday before approaching Central America on Wednesday.
Current indications are that Lisa will continue to strengthen and could be at or near hurricane strength (75-plus-mph winds) by late Wednesday as it makes landfall, likely along the coast of Belize.
What are the expected impacts of Tropical Storm Lisa?
According to the FOX Forecast Center, Tropical Storm Lisa is expected to produce up to an inch of rain in portions of the Cayman Islands, northern Honduras and eastern Nicaragua through Thursday morning. Localized areas could see up to 2 inches of rainfall.
In Jamaica and Guatemala, between 2 and 4 inches of rain is predicted, with localized amounts of up to 6 inches. Belize is forecast to see the heaviest rain, likely picking up 3 to 5 inches, with isolated totals as high as 8 inches.