 Beta could affect an area ranging from Honduras to Panama |
Beta could strengthen before it makes landfall in Nicaragua over the weekend, bringing heavy rains, US forecasters have warned.
Beta, which formed in the Caribbean Sea, is the record-breaking 23rd named storm of the Atlantic season.
Tropical Storm Alpha, which struck earlier this week, killed 26 people in the Caribbean but has now subsided.
Emergency workers are concerned that heavy rains brought by Beta could affect an area ranging from Honduras to Panama.
Earlier this month hundreds of people were killed in Guatemala by mudslides triggered by Hurricane Stan.
Tropical Storm Beta is slowly moving northwards and is expected to become a hurricane by Friday, according to forecasters at the US Hurricane Center.
On San Andres, a Colombian island of the coast of Nicaragua, shelters have been prepared but no evacuation orders have yet been issued for its 80,000 inhabitants.
Florida clear-up
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Alpha, which caused flooding and mudslides in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, has now lost its intensity.
Meanwhile, US President George W Bush declared the state of Florida a major disaster area and released federal money to help with the clear-up following Hurricane Wilma.
"Things don't happen instantly, but things are happening," Mr Bush said as he visited the state, where thousands of people remain in shelters.
Power crews are working to restore electricity to millions of homes and businesses after the storm.
The Atlantic hurricane season officially ends on 30 November.
