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The National Weather Service in Memphis has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for the Mid-South until 11 p.m. Friday.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce tornadoes.
Included in this watch are the following counties in West Tennessee: Chester, Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Hardeman, Haywood, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Shelby, and Tipton.
This includes the cities of Aberdeen, Alamo, Amory, Ashland, Bartlett, Batesville, Blytheville, Bolivar, Booneville, Brownsville, Bruce, Calhoun City, Caruthersville, Charleston, Clarksdale, Coffeeville, Collierville, Corinth, Corning, Covington, Dyersburg, Forrest City, Fulton, Germantown, Harrisburg, Helena, Henderson, Holly Springs, Houston, Iuka, Jackson, Jonesboro, Kennett, Marianna, Marks, Memphis, Millington, New Albany, Oakland, Okolona, Olive Branch, Oxford, Paragould, Piggott, Pontotoc, Ripley MS, Ripley TN, Selmer, Senatobia, Somerville, Southaven, Tiptonville, Tunica, Tupelo, Water Valley, West Helena, West Memphis, And Wynne.
Several convective scenarios are expected in the watch area, beginning with the continued growth/intensification of a storm cluster (now crossing southern Arkansas) which will continue eastward into northwestern Mississippi later this afternoon/evening.
Additional scattered severe storm development may occur farther north into northeastern Arkansas and western Tennessee, as well closer to central Mississippi along an outflow boundary moving northwestward. Damaging winds will be the primary severe threat, especially with the Arkansas storm cluster, though large hail and damaging gusts will be possible through this evening across the watch area.
The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 85 statute miles east and west of a line from 15 miles north of Dyersburg TN to 90 miles west southwest of Meridian, MS.