Caribbean storm is ‘likely to gain force and hit Central America’

A man runs from the rain in Caracas, Venezuela (Ariana Cubillos/AP)

A storm that has hurled rain on the southern Caribbean and the northern shoulder of South America is expected to hit Central America as a tropical storm over the weekend and eventually develop into a hurricane over the Pacific, forecasters said.

The fast-moving disturbance known as “Potential Tropical Cyclone Two” has been drenching parts of the Caribbean region since Monday – without ever meeting the criteria for a named tropical storm.