Seventeen million people across the South are under the threat of damaging winds, strong tornadoes and hail Saturday as the region braces for more potential destructive storms.
Multiple tornadoes have been reported in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi over the past couple of days, including an EF-1 tornado (86 to 110-mile per hour winds) near Fullerton, Louisiana Friday.
On Thursday, five tornadoes were confirmed to have happened in Texas by the National Weather Service, including an EF-1 in the Houston area that caused structural damage to some homes.
Saturday’s risk for more storms stretches from east Texas to Alabama and includes the cities of Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Houston, Texas, Jackson and Birmingham.
“Storm development is possible during the early morning with more development possible during the afternoon in East Texas/western Louisiana,” the National Weather Service’s Storm prediction Center said on X. “The strongest storms and greatest strong (EF2+) tornado threat will exist during late afternoon/early evening.”
A tornado watch is in effect for an area spanning from East Texas to southwestern Mississippi where a severe threat for “damaging gusts, large hail, and a couple of tornadoes may occur through the remainder of the morning,” according to the storm prediction center field office in Norman, Oklahoma.
