Lisa has become a hurricane, the sixth of 2022 in the Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Lisa is expected to make landfall later today in Belize, where a hurricane warning is in effect. Lisa was a Category 1 hurricane with sustained 80 mph winds.

The hurricane center is also tracking newly upgraded Hurricane Martin in the north-central Atlantic. Martin had 75 mph winds and is no threat to land.

The path for Hurricane Lisa has shifted a bit as of Wednesday, and the hurricane center now shows the storm making landfall in Belize and later emerging into the southern Gulf of Mexico. It is forecast to be a tropical depression by that point.

The long-range forecast shows Lisa in the Gulf as a tropical depression at the end of the forecast period on Monday.

Should those along the Gulf Coast be worried about Lisa?

The hurricane center didn’t think so as of Wednesday. Forecasters said wind shear is expected to pick up over the Gulf and should weaken the storm. It is not expected to become stronger than a depression and could weaken to a remnant low by the first of next week, if not sooner.

As of 10 a.m. CDT Wednesday, the center of Hurricane Lisa was located about 55 miles east-southeast of Belize City and was tracking to the west at 14 mph.

A hurricane warning was in effect for the coast of Belize and from Chetumal to Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Bay Islands of Honduras, the north coast of Honduras from Punta Castilla westward, the north coast of Guatemala and from Puerto Costa Maya to Punta Allen, Mexico.

The hurricane center said that on the forecast track, the center of Lisa will make landfall in Belize later today, and then cross northern Guatemala and move into southeastern Mexico by Thursday.

Hurricane conditions will reach the coast of Belize and the southeastern Yucatan peninsula this afternoon. Tropical storm conditions are expected during the next several hours over portions of the Bay Islands and along the northern coast of Honduras.

Lisa could bring 4 to 7 feet of storm surge to the coast of Belize.

It will also bring a lot of rain. Four to 6 inches of rain with local amounts to 10 inches will be possible in Belize, northern Guatemala and parts of Mexico.

Forecasters said that much rain could cause flash flooding, especially in Belize and northern Guatemala.

HURRICANE MARTIN

Martin strengthened to the seventh hurricane of 2022 on Wednesday morning in the central Atlantic and is no threat to land.

As of 10 a.m. CDT Wednesday, Hurricane Martin was located about 1,280 miles west of the Azores and was moving east-northeast at 26 mph.

Martin had 75 mph winds, making it a Category 1 hurricane. The hurricane center said Martin could get larger and stronger through Thursday but then begin to weaken later on Thursday and into the weekend.

Martin could peak with winds as high as 105 mph, which is Category 2 intensity.

ELSEWHERE IN THE ATLANTIC

The hurricane center was also watching an area of disturbed weather near Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. As of Wednesday it has a 20 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression over the next five days.

However, the hurricane center said some slow development will be possible as it tracks northward to northwestward.