NU Online News Service, Sept. 27, 2:30 p.m. EDT

Tropical Storm Matthew struck Central America twice over the weekend, but the good news for the U.S. is that the now unnamed storm system is not expected to reemerge into the Gulf of Mexico where it could intensify.

Late last week modelers said there was a chance the storm could make its way back into the Gulf, intensify due to warm sea surface temperatures and eventually strike the west coast of Florida.

The National Hurricane Center gives the storm system a 30 percent chance of again developing into a tropical cyclone within the next 48 hours.

Tropical Storm Matthew was the 13^th named storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. It made landfall in a sparsely populated area at the border of Honduras and Nicaragua on Sept. 24 and then made a second landfall in Belize the next day and was downgraded to a tropical depression, according to a report from Guy Carpenter.

The storm brought heavy rainfall to the affected countries, causing flash floods and landslides. More rainfall was expected for Belize, Guatemala and Mexico. Downed trees were reported in Belize.

In Yajalon, Mexico, officials said 215 homes were damaged and 1,000 families were moved to shelters, Guy Carpenter reported.

Special Reports /

Storm Matthew Floods Central America; Threat To U.S. Low

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