The National Hurricane Center is also asking residents of the eastern Gulf Coast, including Florida, to monitor the storm closely since it has the potential to reach the US.

Tropical Storm Sara has formed in the Caribbean Sea and is forecast to continue strengthening, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The system is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm by the end of the day and continue strengthening if it remains over water.

A shift in Tropical Depression 19's track has significantly impacted meteorologists' predictions about its potential to form into Hurricane Sara.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are urging residents of the eastern Gulf Coast, particularly Floridians, to monitor the forecast closely because there could be an opening for the storm to reach the US next week.

The National Hurricane Center has issued advisories for Tropical Depression 19 in the western Caribbean Sea. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Punta Castilla to the Honduras/Nicaragua Border and the Bay Islands of Honduras. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Punta Sal to the Honduras/Nicaragua Border and the Bay Islands of Honduras

Tropical depression 19 officially formed Thursday morning, and now sits less than 90 miles away from the Nicaragua/Honduras coastline, prompting hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings for those countries.

Later this week and over the weekend, weakened steering currents are likely to cause the system to meander offshore or along the coast of Central America. Toward the end of the forecast period, a front moving into the western Gulf of Mexico is expected to shift the storm to a northwestward track.

A tropical depression that forecasters expect to form in the Caribbean Sea within the next week is forecast to reach the Gulf of Mexico early next week, forecasters with the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Wednesday.