Tornado watch issued for South Mississippi as Coast preps for severe thunderstorms
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch that includes the Coast and southwest Mississippi.
The watch, in effect until 10 p.m., means a tornado in the area is possible. A tornado warning indicates it is happening or imminent, and you should seek shelter immediately.
The watch affects much of eastern Louisiana as well as eight Mississippi counties: Harrison, Hancock, Jackson, Pearl River, Amite, Pike, Walthall and Wilkinson.
The tornado watch comes with a front expected to bring thunderstorms and damaging winds to south Mississippi later today, according to the National Weather Service New Orleans office.
The NWS forecasts the storm systems to affect Louisiana first, passing over New Orleans and Slidell before moving east over Mississippi.
The Hancock County Emergency Management Agency said in their Wednesday morning weather update that the worst weather could arrive after 12 p.m. Wednesday and will likely end by around midnight.
“Thunderstorms with heavy rainfall are expected and there is high confidence that some thunderstorms will become severe,” the agency wrote.
Other risks include:
- Strong winds of 60 miles per hour or more
- Total rainfall of 1 to 3 inches, with more possible in isolated areas
- Isolated tornadoes
- Rainfall rates of 2 inches per hour or more
It’s possible that roadways will flood.
National Weather Service New Orleans meteorologist Megan Williams told the Sun Herald that while the tornado risk will be highest west of the red dashed line in the graphic below, sparing most of the Coast except for parts of Hancock County, thunderstorms and heavy rain and wind are in the forecast for everyone.
Jackson County, she said, could be at particular risk of rain impacts because of recent rain leaving the ground saturated.
Williams said the bad weather is caused by a front that formed in the western part of the United States. It’s now moving over Texas and causing thunderstorms in the Beaumont area.
Williams said such fronts are more common in the fall and spring, as the seasons shift toward winter and summer.
“Typically this is when you get your most instability in the atmosphere and you get different weather patterns that interact during the fall and spring seasons,” she said.
This story was originally published October 27, 2021 at 9:23 AM.
