Fast-moving storms could bring severe weather across Mississippi starting on Friday afternoon and throughout Saturday, with the possibility of damaging winds and tornadoes, the National Weather Service and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency say.

Forecasts say the most severe weather will likely arrive Saturday, with enhanced risks for tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail. Some wind gusts Saturday could exceed 70 mph, forecasts say.

The storms are part of a system covering much of the country from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast that could affect up to 100 million people, with blizzard and wildfire risks in other parts of the country.

“If there’s a time of the year where a storm like this can deliver these coast-to-coast impacts, we are in it,” Benjamin Reppert, a meteorologist at Penn State University, told the Associated Press.

Mississippians can monitor updates from the National Weather Service, the Weather Channel, and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency’s website and Facebook page.

The following is a list of tips MEMA provides for staying safe amid tornadoes:

  • What to Do if You Are in Your Home During a Tornado
  • Go to the lowest level of the home, an inner hallway, or smaller inner room without windows, such as a closet or bathroom.
  • Get away from windows and go to the center of the room. Avoid corners, because they tend to attract debris.
  • Get under a sturdy piece of furniture, such as a workbench or heavy table.
  • If You Are in a Mobile Home
  • Evacuate the mobile home, even if it is equipped with tie-downs. Take shelter in a building with a strong foundation, or if one is not available, lie in a ditch or low-lying area a safe distance away from the mobile home. Tornadoes cannot change elevation quickly enough to pick someone up out of a ditch, especially a deep ditch or culvert.
  • If You Are at Work or School
  • Go to the basement or to an inside hallway at the lowest level of the building.
  • Avoid places with wide-span roofs, such as auditoriums, cafeterias, large hallways or shopping malls.
  • Use your arms to protect your head and neck.
  • If Outdoors
  • If possible, get inside a sturdy building with a concrete foundation.
  • If shelter is not available, or there is no time to get indoors, lie in a ditch or low-lying area or crouch near a strong building.
  • Be aware of the potential for flooding.
  • If You Are in a Vehicle
  • Never try to out-drive a tornado in your vehicle. Tornadoes can change direction very quickly and can lift a vehicle and toss it in the air.
  • Get out of the vehicle and take shelter in a nearby building.
  • If there is no time to get indoors, get out of the vehicle and lie in a ditch or low-lying area away from the vehicle.

Award-winning News Editor Ashton Pittman, a native of the South Mississippi Pine Belt, studied journalism and political science at the University of Southern Mississippi. Previously the state reporter at the Jackson Free Press, he drove national headlines and conversations with award-winning reporting about segregation academies. He has won numerous awards, including Outstanding New Journalist in the South, for his work covering immigration raids, abortion battles and even former Gov. Phil Bryant’s unusual work with “The Bad Boys of Brexit" at the Jackson Free Press. In 2021, as a Mississippi Free Press reporter, he was named the Diamond Journalist of the Year for seven southern U.S. states in the Society of Professional Journalists Diamond Awards. A trained photojournalist, Ashton lives in South Mississippi with his husband, William, and their two pit bulls, Dorothy and Dru.