Nineteen active tornado warnings covered seven states Thursday morning — Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, West Virginia and Wisconsin — as the Storm Prediction Center confirmed 10 tornado touchdowns in the past 48 hours and radar-indicated rotation continued to develop across a broad corridor from the Gulf Coast into the Appalachian interior.
The National Weather Service issued warnings in rapid succession through the early morning hours. In southeastern Louisiana, a storm capable of producing a tornado was located near Pearl River — about 8 miles northwest of Slidell — moving northeast at 35 mph as of 7:31 a.m. CDT. A separate warning covered central St. Tammany Parish until 8 a.m. CDT. Simultaneously, the National Weather Service in Mobile flagged Stone County, Mississippi, where rotation was detected 6 miles west of Saucier, or 17 miles northwest of Gulfport, moving northeast at 25 mph. For the latest conditions in the metro area directly in the storm’s path, see New Orleans weather.
Residents in all warned areas were directed to take cover immediately: move to a basement or interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building and stay away from windows. Anyone in a mobile home or vehicle should seek the nearest substantial structure without delay. The National Weather Service stressed that radar-indicated rotation can precede a visible funnel cloud — do not wait for visual confirmation.
The confirmed storm reports document a destructive 48-hour span. The Storm Prediction Center logged tornadoes near Enterprise and 1 mile north-northeast of Ewell in Alabama, near Mattoon in north-central Illinois — with at least two separate touchdowns recorded in that vicinity — and near Eastman, Wisconsin. The broader outbreak generated 81 large hail reports and 208 damaging wind reports across the region.
The outbreak’s footprint has shifted sharply south and east since Wednesday, when Tornado Watch 340 was centered on central Illinois and northeastern Missouri. Thursday’s active warnings drove the immediate threat deep into eastern Kentucky — Breathitt, Floyd, Johnson, Knott, Lawrence, Lee, Magoffin, Martin, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, Owsley, Pike, Rowan and Wolfe counties were among those under warning — and across much of West Virginia, with Boone, Cabell, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo, Nicholas, Raleigh, Roane and Wayne counties included among more than two dozen warned in the state. Central Kentucky counties including Fayette, Madison, Mercer and Woodford were also under warning. Residents near Lexington weather should monitor local NWS bulletins closely.
Coastal warning areas extended into Gulf waters, covering Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Borgne, Mississippi Sound and coastal zones from Pascagoula, Mississippi, to Port Fourchon, Louisiana, out 20 nautical miles. Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard and St. Charles parishes in Louisiana were also included in active warnings.
The Storm Prediction Center and National Weather Service continue to monitor the system. Additional warnings are possible as the line of storms advances northeast through the morning hours.