Tornado and Severe Thunderstorm Update

There is a significant risk of tornadoes in the brown area beginning this afternoon and continuing tonight.

There is a pretty good chance of large hail and a chance of damaging thunderstorm winds this afternoon and tonight in the area indicated below:

There is a serious risk of tornadoes Wednesday afternoon through midnight Wednesday night in the hatched area:

While I realize it is the Christmas season, tornadoes can and do occur in all months of the year. In fact, one year ago five were killed in Mississippi by a series of tornadoes.

I'll have updates on the tornado threat tomorrow morning. I'll have an update on the major winter storm threat for this weekend early this evening.