Tropical Storm Lisa on Track to Strike Belize as 12th Atlantic Storm of 2022

Tropical Storm Lisa has spun up in the Caribbean Sea south of Jamaica, on track to strike Belize late Wednesday as the 12th storm of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season.

Lisa’s top winds have reached 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour south of Kingston, Jamaica, and it was moving west at 14 mph, the US National Hurricane Center said in an 11 a.m. advisory. The storm is forecast to reach hurricane strength with 75 mph winds Wednesday just before it makes landfall in Belize.

“Interests along the coast of Central America, especially near Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, should monitor the progress of this system,” wrote Eric Blake, a forecaster at the hurricane center.

The 2022 season has been marked by fewer storms than average, though hurricanes Ian and Fiona inflicted massive damage across Florida, the Caribbean and the Canadian Maritimes. Ian in particular left a deep trail of destruction when it hit near Fort Myers, Florida, as a Category 4 hurricane on the five-step Saffir Simpson scale on Sept. 28.

In addition to any wind damage it may bring, Lisa is forecast to drop heavy rain across Jamaica Monday and throughout the Cayman Islands, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Belize through the rest of the week, possibly causing flash flooding. Lisa won’t be a threat to US offshore oil and natural gas production.