Severe storms possible Saturday evening

COLUMBUS, Mississippi (WCBI) – A strong cold front will bring the risk of severe weather to the entire region Saturday evening. Much colder air moves in Sunday.

SATURDAY: Expect an increasingly warm, breezy day w/highs soaring into the 70s by the afternoon. South wind gusts up to 25-35 mph are possible. A few spotty showers are also possible, but the bulk of the severe weather threat should hold off until the evening hours.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Indications are big storms will initiate just west of the MS River in southeastern Arkansas and northern Louisiana between 3-5p. These storms will quickly coalesce into a squall line and begin to accelerate ENE toward north & central Mississippi and southwestern TN. As the primary forcing continues eastward, the line of storms should enter the northern & western parts of our coverage area ~ 8 PM. From there, the line of storms swill sweep eastward and affect the entire region. Damaging wind gusts of 60-80 mph and tornadoes will be possible along the line. The line of storms should be exiting our Alabama counties (Pickens/Lamar) between 12-1a early Sunday morning.

CALL TO ACTION: Have multiple ways to get watch & warning information tonight! Charge mobile devices, and remember you can stream our severe weather coverage HERE as well as from our WCBI News/Weather Facebook pages.