Tornadoes possible in the Deep South amid intense winter storm
While the winter storm plunges much of the country into a deep freeze of ice and snow, the same system threatens the Deep South with a different hazard.
Massive winter storm spawns severe weather threat across Gulf Coast, Deep South
While a massive winter storm plunges much of the country into a deep freeze of ice and snow, the same system threatens the Deep South with a new hazard — severe thunderstorms. A line of thunderstorms is expected to organize Sunday morning across Louisiana and Mississippi, just south of the icing zone, before pushing into Alabama and the Florida Panhandle around midday. By late afternoon, the severe threat will shift into southwest Georgia.
As a massive winter storm slams the United States, parts of the Deep South could see isolated tornadoes, gusty winds and severe thunderstorms on Sunday.
While the winter storm plunges much of the country into a deep freeze of ice and snow, the same system threatens the Deep South with a different hazard.
This graphic shows the tornado threat for the Deep South on Sunday. (FOX Weather / FOX Weather)
As the storm circulates, surface winds across portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, the Florida panhandle and southwest Georgia, will shift to the south, drawing warm, moist air directly off the Gulf of America.
Southern portions of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Florida panhandle are under a Level 2 out of 5 threat. This includes Mobile and Montgomery, Alabama, Panama City, Florida, Albany, Georgia and more.
LIVE UPDATES: DANGEROUS WINTER STORM BLASTS THE SOUTH AS POWER OUTAGES SKYROCKET
This moisture acts as fuel for a line of strong to severe thunderstorms expected to sweep eastward along and ahead of the system's cold front.
This graphic shows the wind forecast for Sunday. (FOX Weather / FOX Weather)
There will be sufficient wind shear, or atmospheric spin, to allow some storms to intensify, posing a risk for 60+ mph wind gusts and isolated tornadoes. While the shear will be robust, a lack of significant atmospheric instability may limit the overall scale of the outbreak.
The line is expected to organize during the morning across Louisiana and Mississippi — just south of the icing zone — before pushing into Alabama and the Florida panhandle around midday.
By late afternoon, the severe threat will shift into southwest Georgia.
This graphic shows the severe storm threat in the Deep South on Sunday. (FOX Weather / FOX Weather)
The historic storm is delivering heavy snow, crippling ice, and days of life-threatening travel conditions to more than 245 million people from Arizona to Maine through the weekend.
The storm had already made history before any flakes flew on Friday, breaking the record for the highest number of counties simultaneously under a Winter Storm Warning.
Stay with FOX Weather for 24/7 coverage and get live updates on the storm as it blasts the nation with crippling ice and dangerous snow across a 2,300-mile path.