The National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi, issued Tornado Watch 173 at 1:54 p.m. CDT Tuesday, in effect until 10 p.m. CDT for parts of Mississippi and northeast Louisiana, the agency said.
The watch covers two parishes in northeast Louisiana — Madison and Richland — and 36 counties across central, east central, north central, northeast, northwest and southwest Mississippi, the statement said. Counties listed by the NWS include Attala, Choctaw, Copiah, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Leake, Madison, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Smith and Yazoo in central Mississippi; Clarke, Jasper, Kemper, Lauderdale, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee and Winston in east central Mississippi; Carroll, Grenada, Leflore, Montgomery and Webster in north central Mississippi; Clay, Lowndes and Oktibbeha in northeast Mississippi; Bolivar, Sunflower and Washington in northwest Mississippi; and Claiborne in southwest Mississippi, with Issaquena, Sharkey and Warren in west central Mississippi.
The NWS release said the watch includes the cities of Ackerman, Anguilla, Bay Springs, Belzoni, Brandon, Brooksville, Canton, Carrollton, Carthage, Cleveland, Columbus, Conehatta, Crystal Springs, De Kalb, Decatur, Delhi, Durant, Eupora, Forest, Goodman, Greenville, Greenwood, Grenada, Hazlehurst, Heidelberg, Indianola, Isola, Jackson, Kosciusko, Lexington, Louisville, Macon, Madison, Magee, Mathiston, Mayersville, Mendenhall, Meridian, Morton, Newton, North Carrollton, Pearl, Pearl River, Philadelphia, Pickens, Port Gibson, Quitman, Raleigh, Rayville, Richland, Ridgeland, Rolling Fork, Ruleville, Scooba, Shubuta, Starkville, Stonewall, Tallulah, Taylorsville, Tchula, Union, Vaiden, Vicksburg, Weir, Wesson, West Point, Winona and Yazoo City.
Separately, Tornado Watch 170 remains valid until 7 p.m. CDT Tuesday for two counties in southeast Arkansas — Ashley and Chicot — and three parishes in northeast Louisiana — East Carroll, Morehouse and West Carroll, the NWS said. That watch includes the cities of Bastrop, Crossett, Dermott, Epps, Eudora, Hamburg, Lake Providence, Lake Village, North Crossett, Oak Grove and West Crossett.
A tornado watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes to form. Residents in the affected areas should monitor local media, a NOAA Weather Radio or the NWS for warnings and be prepared to take shelter if a warning is issued. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
