FOX Forecast Center meteorologists are monitoring the Deep South for the threat of severe weather this afternoon and evening.
In an early afternoon update, the Storm Prediction Center expanded its damaging wind risk zone eastward to Atlanta and much of north-central Georgia.
After a morning of dense fog and flight delays, the atmosphere is recharging and a cluster of severe thunderstorms is forecast to roar across the South into the evening.
While the coverage may remain scattered, any storm that matures could pack a punch with wind gusts to 60 mph, frequent lightning, and large hail.
While the most significant tornado risk is currently centered farther west, people in the Atlanta metro should not let their guard down this evening. These storms are part of a broader, restless weather pattern that will likely bring more widespread severe weather to the Southeast by mid-week.
The FOX Forecast Center is closely monitoring a developing weather setup that will bring an increasing tornado threat to portions of Alabama and Mississippi later today.
As a warm, humid airmass from the Gulf of America surges northward, it will collide with a passing atmospheric disturbance, providing the fuel needed for robust thunderstorm development.
While large hail and damaging winds to 60 mph remain the primary concern for many, the twist in the winds as you move up through the atmosphere is becoming more favorable for rotating storms, especially across northern Mississippi and Alabama during the mid-to-late afternoon hours.
Meteorologists emphasize that while any potential tornadoes may be on an isolated basis today, they can still be dangerous and develop quickly.
People in cities like Jackson, Tupelo, Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa should ensure their FOX Weather App alerts are turned on and have a designated safe place ready to go.
FOX Weather meteorologist Stephen Morgan breaks down the ingredients for today's severe storm threat across the South.
{{#rendered}}In addition to the threat of tornadoes and hail, a significant flash flooding risk is emerging across the central U.S. this week.
As a slow-moving storm system interacts with a surge of moisture from the Gulf, heavy rain is expected to drench areas from East Texas through the Ohio Valley.
The FOX Forecast Center warns that training storms—where multiple storms follow the same path like railroad cars—could drop 1 to 3 inches of rain, with isolated totals reaching 4 inches in some spots.
The risk is particularly high in parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, where the ground is already saturated from last week’s deadly storms.
This excess moisture cannot soak into the earth, leading to rapid runoff into streets and low-lying areas.
The recent multi-day severe weather outbreak has left a staggering mark on the country, with the Storm Prediction Center logging more than 230 reports of severe weather spanning 21 states from Thursday through Saturday.
This volatile stretch was highlighted by a deadly tornado outbreak that claimed eight lives in Michigan and Oklahoma, including the earliest EF-3 tornado ever recorded in Michigan’s history.
The reports represent a widespread onslaught of atmospheric violence, ranging from giant hail in the Plains to damaging straight-line winds and dozens of tornadoes across the Midwest and South.
A weather disturbance moving out of the Texas Panhandle is setting the stage for a noisy and potentially damaging Monday across the Deep South.
As this system tracks eastward, it is pulling a surge of warm, sticky air from the Gulf of America into Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
This moisture is acting as fuel for a cluster of thunderstorms already beginning to fire up along a stalled front over Oklahoma and Arkansas.
As we move through the afternoon, these individual storms are expected to band together into a more organized line, often called an MCS (Mesoscale Convective System), which will march across northern Mississippi and Alabama.
While the main concern remains large hail and wind gusts strong enough to knock down tree limbs, the atmosphere has just enough spin to keep FOX Weather forecasters on the lookout for a brief, isolated tornado.
Even after the main line of storms passes, the air behind it will remain unstable, meaning additional scattered storms capable of dropping hail could pop up through the evening.
{{#rendered}}Four people were killed when tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma during last week's tornado outbreak last week.
Governor Kevin Stitt announced a mother and daughter were killed by a twister that tore through Major County, Oklahoma on Thursday night.
On Friday, the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office confirmed two deaths after severe storms blasted central parts of the state.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for portions of the southern half of Arkansas and southeast Oklahoma until 3 p.m. CT as a cluster of powerful storms moves through the region this morning.
The FOX Forecast Center warns that the primary threat with this round is large hail, which could reach the size of quarters or larger in the most intense cells, along with the potential for damaging wind gusts up to 60 mph.
While the current activity is focused on the mid-morning hours, the severe storm risk is expected to persist through the late afternoon as a warm front lifts north.
Forecasters note that while hail is the main concern, the atmosphere remains volatile enough that an isolated tornado cannot be entirely ruled out.
Residents in cities like Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and Texarkana should have a way to receive alerts and be prepared to move indoors if warnings are issued for their area.
Drone footage has captured the staggering scale of destruction in Union City, Michigan, where a powerful EF-3 tornado ripped through the lakeside community on Friday afternoon.
The aerial views show flattened homes along Union Lake and massive debris fields in a town still reeling from the deadliest storm event Michigan has seen since 1980.
With maximum winds of 160 mph, this historic twister now holds the record as the earliest EF-3 or stronger tornado ever documented in the state’s history.
{{#rendered}}FOX Weather Meteorologist Haley Meier reports live on the ground in Union City, Michigan, continuing her coverage from one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods on Prairie Rose Lane, where the destruction has left little behind.
Tuesday’s severe weather setup is a tale of two centers, with the FOX Forecast Center monitoring two distinct corridors of concern: one in Texas and another stretching from Missouri into Illinois and Indiana.
The ingredients for another potential severe weather outbreak are falling into place as two separate storm systems—one from the Southwest and another from the Plains—converge over the heart of the country.
This creates a split-flow pattern that acts like a vacuum, pulling warm, sticky air with dew points in the 60s up from the Gulf of America.
For much of the day, a cap (a layer of warm air aloft that acts like a lid) will likely keep storms from forming. However, as a powerful low-level jet—a ribbon of fast-moving air just above the ground—intensifies late Tuesday afternoon, that lid is expected to pop, triggering explosive thunderstorm development.
What makes or breaks this forecast is how these individual storms interact with different boundaries, like the warm front draped across the Midwest or the dryline in Texas.
In the afternoon, the main threats will be isolated supercells, or rotating thunderstorms, which are notorious for producing very large hail (up to 2.5 inches, or tennis ball size).
The greatest danger arrives in the evening near the intersections of these weather fronts; here, the wind shear (changing wind speed and direction with height) is most intense, creating an environment where strong tornadoes (EF-2 or higher) are possible.
As the night goes on, these individual cells will likely clump together into lines, shifting the primary threat to damaging wind gusts that could persist well after sunset as a cold front pushes through the region.
{{#rendered}}Scattered severe storms are possible across parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and north Texas this morning as a pocket of warm, humid air clashes with an incoming weather disturbance.
While the Storm Prediction Center isn't expecting significant severe weather, the atmosphere is unstable enough that any storm that manages to hold together could produce large hail and gusty winds.
The threat is expected to ramp up and become more organized as it moves into Mississippi and broader parts of Arkansas later today, so residents in these areas should keep an eye on the sky and stay tuned for updates throughout the afternoon.
A complicated and potentially significant severe weather outbreak is taking shape for Tuesday as multiple atmospheric systems converge over the Heartland, threatening many of the same communities devastated by last week's storms.
The FOX Forecast Center warns that an upper-level disturbance moving from the Rockies will interact with a strengthening northern system, pulling warm, humid air from the Gulf across Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas and into the Ohio Valley. This creates a broad warm sector of unstable air capable of supporting intense thunderstorm development.
A Level 3 out of 5 severe storm risk is currently centered over a narrow corridor from Missouri to Indiana, while a broader Level 2 risk stretches from Lake Michigan all the way south to the Texas-Mexico border, encompassing major hubs like Chicago, Dallas, and Indianapolis.
The primary window for danger opens Tuesday afternoon as isolated supercells develop, capable of producing very large hail.
As the evening progresses, these storms are expected to organize into lines as a cold front sweeps through, significantly increasing the tornado threat—particularly along a warm front in the mid-Mississippi Valley.
Residents in cities such as Springfield, Peoria, and Bloomington should be prepared for a long night as a powerful low-level jet will continue to fuel these storms with moisture well after sunset.
This suggests that severe weather and potential tornadoes could remain active overnight, making it critical for those in the path to have a way to receive weather alerts while they sleep.
{{#rendered}}Low clouds have triggered a ground stop at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) this morning.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued the order to manage arrival flow as visibility remains limited, with the stop currently scheduled to remain in effect until 8:30 a.m. ET.
The stoppage is creating a ripple effect across the Southeast, with flights destined for the world’s busiest airport being held at their points of origin. Travelers should expect significant delays throughout the morning as the airport works to clear the backlog once conditions improve.
A new round of severe weather is targeting the South today, just as the region begins a busy week of atmospheric unrest.
The Storm Prediction Center has issued a Level 2 of 5 severe storm risk for a large portion of Mississippi, including cities like Jackson, Tupelo, and Greenville, where storms are expected to fire up this afternoon and persist through the evening hours.
FOX Forecast Center meteorologists warn that these storms could be potent, with the primary threats being damaging wind gusts and hail up to the size of golf balls.
While the tornado threat remains low for today, meteorologists emphasize that tornadoes cannot be ruled out, especially as a warm, moist airmass surges northward.
Residents from western Georgia to East Texas should also remain alert for strong storms that could drop hail and whip up powerful winds as stray severe storms could develop ahead of a much more significant round of storms expected to slam the Midwest and Plains starting tomorrow.
Recovery is underway across southwest Michigan following Friday's catastrophic tornado outbreak, which has now been confirmed as the state's deadliest since 1980.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a State of Emergency for Branch, Cass, and St.Joseph counties on Sunday, authorizing all available state resources to assist flattened lakeside communities and devastated downtowns.
The National Weather Service confirmed that the EF-3 tornado that struck Union City—packing winds of 160 mph—is the earliest EF-3 or stronger tornado ever recorded in Michigan's history. The twister is the state's strongest since an F4 struck Kalamazoo and Eaton Counties on April 2, 1977.
Four people were killed, including a 12-year-old boy in Cass County and residents in the Union Lake area.
As of Monday morning, crews from the Michigan State Police and local first responders are working alongside non-profits like the Salvation Army and Convoy of Hope to provide meals, hygiene kits, and power restoration.
While several school districts remain closed today, including Three Rivers Community Schools, the focus remains on door-to-door wellness checks and clearing primary roads before the next round of severe weather arrives on Tuesday.
{{#rendered}}
Live Coverage begins here