ATLANTA - A storm system that forecasters fear will fuel a tornado outbreak in the nation's midsection could also bring severe weather to the Deep South.
The most dangerous weather is expected Tuesday in parts of Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma, where softball-size hail and strong, long-lasting tornadoes will be possible, the National Weather Service forecasts warned.
The threat shifts to the east on Wednesday, as parts of Louisiana and Mississippi will at a slight risk of severe storms, the national Storm Prediction Center projected in its most recent forecasts.
"We are currently under a slight risk, but that could be updated as the storms approach from Oklahoma," said Michael Berry, senior forecaster at the National Weather Service's office in Shreveport, Louisiana.
In the Chattanooga region, the National Weather Service says that isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms could be "strong to marginally severe," particularly late Wednesday night and into Thursday. Those storms carry the risk of hail and damaging winds, forecasters said.
Large hail, damaging winds and an isolated tornado will be possible Wednesday north of a line from near Lake Charles, Louisiana, to Vicksburg, Mississippi, Berry said.
In Mississippi, the greatest threat for severe weather will be Wednesday afternoon and evening, said Anna Wolverton, a meteorologist in the weather service's Jackson office.
"North of the Interstate 20 corridor, severe thunderstorms with hail and strong winds, and the possibility of an isolated tornado" are the main threats in Mississippi, Wolverton said.
As the system moves east, some severe storms will be possible in the northwest corner of Alabama, forecasters said.
In Georgia, the system will bring a chance for rain late Wednesday and Thursday, but severe storms aren't expected, according to the weather service.