Warnings were issued for Honduras on Thursday as meteorologists warned that Tropical Storm Sara, currently churning in the Caribbean Sea, could bring significant, life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides across portions of Central America through the weekend.

Sara, which reached tropical storm status Thursday, could affect the United States or Cuba next week, but forecasters with the National Hurricane Center said it was too soon to determine an exact path or intensity.

The storm is expected to meander near or over the coast of Central America this week and through the weekend. There is some uncertainty of just how strong the storm may become before it interacts with the coast, and, if the system moves onshore, how long it remains inland — which could affect where the storm goes early next week.

Forecasters are expecting northern Honduras to get torrential rainfall of 10 to 20 inches with isolated storm totals around 30 inches in the coming days. They warned that “rainfall will lead to widespread areas of life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides, especially along and near the Sierra La Esperanza.”

Other portions of Honduras, as well as Belize, El Salvador, eastern Guatemala and western Nicaragua, will probably see 5 to 10 inches of rain with some areas getting higher amounts of 15 inches through early next week.