NEW ORLEANS – Severe storms capable of spinning up tornados are expected across the Deep South.
Forecasters say the storms are expected to strike the region on Thursday — New Year’s Eve. A tornado watch covered parts of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana on Thursday evening.
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The national Storm Prediction Center says the area most at risk of severe weather on Thursday includes parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and southeast Texas.
The region at enhanced risk of severe weather includes more than 4 million people and the metropolitan areas of New Orleans; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Beaumont, Texas.
“Tornadoes along with damaging wind gusts and large hail are all potential threats," according to the National Weather Service office in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Forecasters say the risk of severe weather will later spread into Alabama and parts of the Florida Panhandle.