A deep plume of tropical moisture streaming ahead of Hurricane Helene ran into a boundary parked over the interior southeastern United States. This boundary squeezed the tropical moisture out of the air like a sponge, leading to days of heavy rain across the mountainous terrain of North Carolina and Tennessee.

Tropical Storm Sara formed this afternoon and threatens to bring "life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides" to Honduras throughout the weekend, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center. A turn toward Florida is still possible, forecasters said.