Tornado Watch Issued as Severe Storms, Including Possible Tornadoes, Threaten South and Ohio Valley (FORECAST)

Quincy Vagell
Published: March 31,2016
The potential for damaging severe thunderstorms continues Thursday from parts of the Deep South into the Ohio Valley. Tornadoes, very large hail, damaging wind gusts, and flash flooding all remain possible threats from the storms.
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has issued a tornado watch until 9 a.m. CDT Thursday for portions of southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi. This includes Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
(NEW: Tornado Central Tracker)
On Wednesday evening, a tornado spun through the north side of the Tulsa, Oklahoma. Damage to buildings and power lines was reported in the Tulsa, Catoosa and Claremore vicinities. Heavy damage was also reported in the city of Dermott, Arkansas, due to a possible tornado late Wednesday night. For the latest information on the damage from the storms, click the link below.
(MORE: Tornado Rips Through Oklahoma)

Current Radar with Watches and Warnings

(MORE: View National Interactive Radar Map | Difference Between a Watch and a Warning)
Below is a look at the current expectation for the severe weather threat into Friday.

Severe Weather and Flash Flooding Forecast

Thursday:

Thursday's Thunderstorm Forecast

• States Impacted: Multiple rounds of thunderstorms and heavy rain will impact a broad area from the Mississippi Valley and Midwest into the southern Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, Tennessee Valley and Deep South. As the initial activity tends to weaken by midday, daytime heating will allow for additional thunderstorms to fire during the afternoon and early evening. This second round will be the most significant in terms of severe potential.
• Potential Impacts: Damaging wind gusts, large hail and tornadoes are also possible. The greatest tornado threat and risk for damaging hail is in a corridor from extreme eastern Arkansas and the northern half of Mississippi to northern Alabama and parts of Tennessee.
• TOR:CON Values are as high as 5 out of 10 Thursday from parts of Mississippi and Alabama into Tennessee, western/central Kentucky, southern Illinois and Indiana. This means there is a 50 percent chance of a tornado within 50 miles of any location in the areas indicated.
• Cities: Birmingham | Indianapolis | Nashville | Tupelo, Mississippi 
• Flash flooding will continue to be a threat through Thursday night, particularly across parts of Alabama, eastern Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee.

Friday:

• States Impacted: Some severe weather may linger to close out the week from Virginia to the Carolinas, south/central Georgia, northern Florida, southern Alabama, southern Mississippi, and southeast Louisiana.
• Potential Impacts: Damaging wind gusts and large hail, though a few tornadoes are also possible.
• Cities: Columbia, South Carolina | Mobile | New Orleans | Raleigh
• Flash flooding will remain a threat from the Carolinas into the southern half of Georgia, southern Alabama, the Florida panhandle, coastal Mississippi and southeast Louisiana.

Friday's Thunderstorm Forecast

Flood Alerts

Wednesday's Severe Weather

Wednesday afternoon, tennis ball size hail has been reported near Breckenridge, Texas. Golf ball size hail also covered the ground near El Dorado, Kansas. Multiple storm spotters reported a brief tornado near Dexter, Kansas late Wednesday afternoon.
Wind gusts reached as high as 70 mph at Burleson, Texas early Wednesday evening and 67 mph near Waurika, Oklahoma Wednesday afternoon.
Major flooding in Jonesboro, Arkansas prompted a flash flood emergency for the area, which has since been canceled. Some minor to moderate flash flooding was also reported in the greater Little Rock, Arkansas area.

Tuesday's Storm Reports

A cluster of thunderstorms rolled across central to south Florida on Tuesday afternoon. The storms were accompanied by some hail, gusty winds, dangerous lightning and locally heavy rainfall.
Three firefighters were injured while responding to a fire when lightning struck an overhang near Boca West. A large tree was knocked down by thunderstorm winds, just to the northwest of Boca West. A wind gust to 56 mph was reported near Boca Grande.
(MORE: Impacts From Florida Storms)
In Nebraska, two rounds of thunderstorms caused marginally large hail across the state. In the morning, hail covered the ground in Albion, requiring a snow plow to clear the highway. Early in the evening, hail also covered the ground to the east of Arthur.

Sunday's Severe Weather Reports

A possible tornado was reported in western Kentucky on Sunday evening with reports of houses and barns damaged near Crofton and Hopkinsville, as well as power outages. Wind damage was also reported near Camden, Tennessee with numerous trees down, along with sheds blown away and a roof came off a barn.
Hail was also reported on Sunday with hail up to the size of golf balls in French Lick, Indiana, near Bluffton, Indiana and near Greenfield, Tennessee.
Heavy rain and flooding was also observed in portions of the Southeast. The Savannah International Airport recorded their wettest March day on record with 3.81 inches of rain on Sunday.

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MORE: Early March 2016 Flooding, Severe Weather (PHOTOS)