The eighteenth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season,[1] Sara developed from a disturbance over the central Caribbean Sea associated with a tropical wave.

Inland, the storm weakened into a tropical depression, then degenerated into a remnant low while over Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula.

On November 11, an area of low-pressure associated with a tropical wave formed south of Hispaniola over the central Caribbean Sea.

[2] The system moved generally westward toward Central America into the next day, and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted the high possibility of further organization due to favorable environmental conditions.

[7] On the evening of November 14, data from an Air Force Hurricane Hunter pass over Sara's the northern semicircle indicated that the storm had moved just inland or very near the northeastern coast of Honduras,[8] striking about 105 mi (165 km) west-northwest of Cabo Gracias a Dios.

[9] On November 15, Sara continued to slowly parallel the northern coast of Honduras, its center having reformed just offshore, between the Bay Islands and the mainland.

Despite having stayed offshore, Sara remained a weak tropical storm with winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) due to the interaction between its broader circulation and the mountainous terrain of northern Honduras, and was struggling to produce deep convection.

[14] Sara made landfall in Belize at around 14:00 UTC on November 17, near Dangriga, with sustained winds of 40 mph (65 km/h).

Satellite imagery that evening showed a small area of convection persisting near and to the west of the estimated low-level center.

Its remnants later emerged over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico,[18] where they merged with a cold front moving over the Southeastern United States.

[9][20] Additionally, the government of Mexico issued a tropical storm warning for the Quintana Roo coast from Puerto Costa Maya southward to Chetumal.

[30] In Mexico, the government rushed to repair buildings that lost their roofs due to strong winds earlier in the week.

[31] The nascent disturbance caused flooding in the Dominican Republic, resulting in the evacuation of 1,767 people, isolating 54 communities, destroying two homes and damaging 487 more.

[32] Floods also affected southern Haiti, killing one person, leaving two missing and damaging 3,554 houses in Sud Department.