More severe weather targets South

BEAUREGARD (AP) — Forecasters are upgrading the likelihood that severe storms and strong tornadoes could strike parts of the South less than a week after a twister killed more than 20 people in Alabama.
A region that includes parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee will be at heightened risk of severe weather Saturday, the national Storm Prediction Center reported Friday.
The area includes 2.5 million people, including the Memphis, Tennessee, metropolitan area.
St. Mary Parish probably will escape the worst, according to the National Weather Service forecast from Lake Charles.
Scattered showers and storms are possible here each day through Thursday. The greatest risk of severe weather will be Saturday, although that risk is centered in central Louisiana.
The Morgan City area is already under a flood warning. The Atchafalaya was at 7.4 feet Thursday night, the weather service said, and is expected to crest March 15 at 8.0 feet.
The nominal flood stage is 6 feet.
The storms will be fast-moving, racing to the northeast at 50 to 60 mph, said Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
“It means you have to take action when warnings are issued and not wait until you see the threat visually,” he said. “If you wait until you see an approaching tornado with damaging winds, it’s going to be at your location within seconds.”
Saturday night, the threat will likely continue after dark as the storms move east into Alabama, forecasters said. That poses a particular danger as many people are often asleep.
“It can be more difficult to reach people at night,” Bunting said. “Just make sure you know how to the get the warnings if it’s in the middle of the night.”
President Donald Trump planned a Friday visit to Lee County, Alabama, where Sunday’s tornado wreaked its worst havoc, killing 23 people.