Severe thunderstorm watch canceled for parts of Mississippi

A severe thunderstorm watch that covered much of central and eastern Mississippi has been canceled, a Facebook post updating the notice said.

The National Weather Service had issued Severe Thunderstorm Watch 374 in effect until 7 p.m. CDT for 26 counties in Mississippi. The counties named in the original notice include Attala, Choctaw, Copiah, Hinds, Leake, Madison, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Smith and Yazoo, and Clarke, Jasper, Kemper, Lauderdale, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee and Winston, and Montgomery and Webster, and Clay, Lowndes and Oktibbeha, and Claiborne and Warren.

The watch also listed numerous cities within the area, including Ackerman, Bay Springs, Brandon, Brooksville, Canton, Carthage, Columbus, Conehatta, Crystal Springs, De Kalb, Decatur, Eupora, Forest, Hazlehurst, Heidelberg, Jackson, Kosciusko, Louisville, Macon, Madison, Magee, Mathiston, Mendenhall, Meridian, Morton, Newton, Pearl, Pearl River, Philadelphia, Port Gibson, Quitman, Raleigh, Richland, Ridgeland, Scooba, Shubuta, Starkville, Stonewall, Taylorsville, Union, Vicksburg, Weir, Wesson, West Point, Winona and Yazoo City.

A severe thunderstorm watch indicates that conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms and that people in the watch area should monitor local forecasts and be prepared to take action if warnings are issued. This is a developing story and will be updated as more details emerge.