Hurricane Lisa headed toward Belize

Hurricane Lisa developed in the Caribbean as the storm churned toward Belize on Wednesday, while Tropical Storm Martin is also forecast to become a short-lived hurricane.

And, the National Hurricane Center advisory says a third storm could develop by the weekend.

As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, Lisa was located 100 miles east-southeast of Belize City and 60 miles east of Honduras over the northwestern Caribbean.

Lisa was a Category 1 hurricane producing maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and moving west at 15 mph. Its tropical-storm-force winds extended out 70 miles from its center.

Martin was about 575 east-northeast of Bermuda as of 5 a.m. Martin is expected to become a hurricane by Wednesday night before transitioning to a powerful extratropical system on Thursday, according to the center’s latest advisory.

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Martin was producing maximum sustained winds of 65 mph as of 5 a.m., moving east-northeast at 15 mph. Its tropical-storm-force winds extended out 115 miles from its center.

Hurricane watches and tropical storm watches and warnings are in effect in areas of Honduras, Mexico, Belize and Guatemala.

Lisa could bring 1 inch of rain to this week to portions of the Cayman Islands and eastern Nicaragua.

Jamaica, Mexico’s eastern Yucatan Peninsula, northern Honduras and Guatemala could see 2 to 4 inches of rain, with up to 6 inches in localized areas.

Belize, Honduras’ Bay Islands, northern Guatemala and part of southeastern Mexico could see flash flooding and 4 to 6 inches of rain, with localized totals of up to 10 inches, the National Hurricane Center said.

Neither Lisa nor Martin poses a threat to Florida.

Forecasters are also monitoring a third possible storm, an area of low pressure in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. The area could move into the eastern Caribbean and develop over the weekend, the hurricane center said in its 8 a.m. advisory. The area has 20% chance of developing as it moves north.

There have been two hurricanes and two major hurricanes, meaning Category 3 or above, so far this season.

NOAA has predicted between two and six more hurricanes to form before hurricane season officially ends on Nov. 30.

The next named storm to form will be Nicole.