Tornadoes tear across Mississippi as major storm threatens millions with severe weather, flash flooding

FOX Weather Meteorologist Kiyana Lewis is live on FOX Weather as severe storms are rocking in the South. Flash floods and tornadoes possible as areas across the region brace through severe storm warnings.

JACKSON, Miss. — Severe storms barreled through the South on Friday, spawning a series of Tornado Warnings and threatening flash flooding across several states in the region as the threat remains through Saturday.

Heavy rain triggered flash flood advisories across several states in the region, including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, soaking many areas that are currently in a drought, elevating the risk for flash flooding. 

A three-hour radar loop. Yellow shaded areas denotes a Severe Thunderstorm Watch while red shaded areas denote a Tornado Watch. 
Warning boxes are color coded as: Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in yellow, Tornado Warnings in red, Tornado Warnings with confirmed tornado in purple, Flash Flood Warnings in green, and Flash Flood Emergencies in pink.
(FOX Weather)
 

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In a classic set up for severe weather in the South, multiple rounds of severe storms thrashed from the Tennessee Valley to the Gulf Coast.

Meanwhile, the biggest threat for flash flooding lies in a corridor across Southern Mississippi near Hattiesburg and south of Jackson that could see rain rates of up to 3 inches per hour Friday, according to the FOX Forecast Center.

This graphic displays the severe storm threat in the South on Friday.
(FOX Weather)
 

Given the abundant moisture and the likelihood of repeated rounds of storms, flood watches in place through Saturday and extend over 600 miles from New Orleans through Nashville.

Over eight million people are under a 2 out of 5 severe storm risk that is in place Friday across parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and western Tennessee, with the highest risk extending from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, north to Memphis, Tennessee and east to Birmingham, Alabama.

This graphic displays the areas under flood watch Friday through early Saturday.
(FOX Weather)
 

Damaging wind gusts are expected to remain the main threat of severe storms, but more tornadoes are possible, hot on the heels of two tornadic episodes on Thursday and Friday.

To kick off the day on Friday, a powerful line of thunderstorms produced at least two radar-confirmed tornadoes in Mississippi around 6:30 a.m. CT. These storms were powered by a cold front from a cross-country storm that’s delivering heavy rounds of rain to millions east of the Mississippi River, as parts of the Deep South and Gulf Coast were slammed by severe storms Friday evening.

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The continued threat of tornadoes came after a strong EF-2 tornado ripped through Purcell, Oklahoma on Thursday as a line of storms moved through the area. Though no injuries were reported, the tornado left a trail of destruction, downing power lines and uprooting trees. 

TORNADO RIPS THROUGH PURCELL, OKLAHOMA SPAWNING TRAIL OF DAMAGE

A radar-confirmed tornado ripped across Interstate 35 and part of Purcell, Oklahoma Thursday morning, knocking down power lines as a powerful line of thunderstorms barreled their way across the Southern Plains.

(KWTV/KOTV via NNS / FOX Weather)

In addition to the EF-2 that ripped through Purcell, the National Weather Service Norman Office confirmed three more tornadoes in Oklahoma: an EF-0 near Lake Thunderbird, an EF-1 near the Shawnee Twin Lakes and an EF-1 in north Shawnee. 

Severe storm threat continues Saturday

As the storm rages east through the night, a level 2 out of 5 severe storm risk is in place into Saturday mainly across Central and Southern Alabama and Western Georgia. 

This graphic displays the severe weather threat in the South on Saturday.
(FOX Weather)
 

Storms will continue to push eastward into the late morning and afternoon and impact the Carolinas into Saturday afternoon, which could affect the highly anticipated NFL playoffs match-up between the Carolina Panthers and the Los Angeles Rams, according to the FOX Forecast Center. 

CROSS COUNTRY STORM EXPECTED TO DAMPEN NFL WILD CARD WEEKEND

As the storm exits the region, the possibility of flash flooding remains across east Tennessee and western North Carolina.