Overview

A tornado watch has been issued that includes our Southwestern Mississippi counties of Amite and Pike. SE Louisiana is not included in the watch. Remember, a tornado watch means that conditions are favorable for tornadoes and some severe thunderstorms in and near the areas under the watch.

A cold front will push through the area on Thursday. This front will bring scattered showers and storms which does present the threat for severe weather. The SPC has outlined a slight risk (2/5) over most of the area for Thursday.

SPC Outlook for today.

Timing: A round of scattered showers and storms will begin to fire up Thursday morning around 8-11am ahead of the cold front. Storms will move to the northwest along the front. The cold front itself will begin to push east during the afternoon. The front will begin to clear during the evening/night around 4-8pm. After the surface front clear, the severe potential drops. Some showers look to linger after the frontal passage but should clear by Friday morning. The best time for severe weather will be between 9am-4pm.

Threats: The severe threat is higher with the round of storms on Thursday, especially in the morning. Surface based supercells are possible, so all modes of severe weather will be possible including tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, flash flooding, and hail. The main concerns will be the tornado and severe wind threat.

Outside of any thunderstorms, winds will be breezy from the south and could gusts up to 25-35 mph.

There is a risk for some localized flash flooding with the storms that have the heaviest rain rates and areas of training. The WPC (Weather Prediction Center) has placed the area under a marginal risk (1/4) for excessive rainfall. Rainfall totals will range between 1-3″ with locally higher amounts. Where exactly storms set up and train over the same locations as they move northeastward will determine who gets the highest amounts and who gets less rain.

WPC estimated rainfall totals (left) and rainfall outlook (right).

How to Prepare

Be sure to multiple ways to receive weather alerts and stay tuned to updated forecasts during the day. Make sure your phone is unmuted, charged, and turned on for WEA notifications.

Have a plan and a safe place to go to if a warning is issued for your location. Find a lower-level, interior room away from windows. Secure outdoor furniture and decor beforehand.

You can always check out the Interactive Radar here.

For the latest forecast information, check out our weather page!

Remember that you can download our weather app. It’s available to download now in the App Store and Google Play. Just search for “BR Proud Weather”.

Be sure to follow the StormTracker Weather Team:

Chief Meteorologist Ashley Ruiz – Twitter | Facebook

Meteorologist Jay Martin – Twitter | Facebook

Meteorologist Brandon Lashbrook – Twitter | Facebook