Tropical Storm Lisa expected to become hurricane by early Wednesday, forecasters say - South Florida Sun Sentinel

Tropical Storm Martin and Tropical Storm Lisa are both forecast to become short-lived hurricanes Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, Lisa was located 480 miles east of Belize City, Belize, and 220 miles south of Grand Cayman.

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Martin formed Tuesday morning and was about 550 east-northeast of Bermuda, moving east at 12 mph as of 11 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.

Martin's tropical-storm-force winds extended out 205 miles from its center.

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Lisa was producing maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and moving west at 14 mph. Its tropical-storm-force winds extended out 105 miles from its center.

Hurricane watches and tropical storm watches and warnings are in effect in areas of Honduras, Mexico, Belize and Guatemala as of early Tuesday. Lisa will pass south of Cayman Islands Tuesday, the center's latest advisory said.

Lisa is expected to approach Central America by Wednesday. By Wednesday night, Lisa's wind speeds will reach a maximum of 80 mph, making it a Category 1 hurricane. It is expected to drop back to tropical storm strength, with top winds of 65 mph, once inland Thursday morning, the center's latest advisory said.

Tropical Storm Lisa is expected to strengthen Tuesday and become a short-lived hurricane by early Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. (National Hurricane Center)

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It could bring 1 to 2 inches 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 and Honduras' Bay Islands could see flash flooding and 3 to 5 inches of rain, with localized totals of up to 8 inches in Belize, the National Hurricane Center said.

[ STAY UPDATED with the latest forecast for tropical weather at SunSentinel.com/hurricane ]

Neither storm poses a threat to Florida.

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

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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.