The National Weather Service has placed a large portion of western Tennessee, including Shelby County, under a general tornado watch until 7:00 p.m.
A “particularly dangerous situation” tornado watch is in effect for parts of north Mississippi and eastern Arkansas.
A watch is different than awarning. A watch indicates conditions are favorable for a specific weather event to occur, whereas a warning means an event is imminent or taking place.
For either, Gary Woodall, the warning coordination meteorologist with the NWS in Memphis, says to stay alert.
“We need to be on guard until whatever happens with the final round of thunderstorms comes through in the late afternoon through the early evening,” he says “After that, things should start to improve for Shelby County.”
Woodall advises the public to consistently check weather updates from news outlets, apps on their smartphones and the NWS’s social media accounts.
This post will be updated.