North Florida is facing a rare and highly dangerous tornado threat as a monster weekend storm system marches across the Midwest and South, leaving more than a dozen dead in its wake.

The area is already under a wind advisory until 4 a.m. Sunday, meaning that south winds ahead of the storms will bring 15 to 25 mph winds with gusts up to 40 mph expected. More serious watches and warning are expected as the storm closes in.

With the worst of the weather arriving overnight into the early hours, forecasters are urging Tallahassee area residents to make sure the batteries in their weather radios are charged and their cellphones are set to get wireless emergency alerts in case they are asleep when severe weather arrives.

“The forecast remains on track for a significant severe weather event to impact the region tonight into Sunday morning,” forecasters warn.

Read on for more updates from the path of the storm.

Storm threat cancels Tallahassee church services

With the worst of the weather expected to push through the Tallahassee area between 3 a.m. and 8 a.m. and pushing through by 11 a.m., many churches are opting to cancel or delay services. Check internal communications from your house of worship or social media for the latest updates.

Tornado watch goes up for western Panhandle

At about 9 p.m., the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Washington, Holmes and Jackson counties.

A tornado watch means residents of the specified area should be prepared because tornadoes are possible in and near the watch area. People should be ready to act quickly if a warning is issued or if they suspect a tornado is approaching, according to the National Weather Service website.

The watch is in effect till 4 a.m.

“Storm trends will dictate how future Watches are issued/updated the remainder of the night into early tomorrow morning,” the agency wrote on X. “A reasonable expectation is that new ones will be gradually expanding eastward as conditions warrant and the storms push east.”

Warning to mobile home residents: ‘It is NOT safe, and you MUST seek alternative shelter’

The county issued a rare public safety alert in part because of updated guidance from the National Weather Service to residents, particularly mobile home residents.

As part of its 4:15 p.m. update, the National Weather Service of Tallahassee has strongly advised all residents of mobile homes to evacuate and seek shelter with friends or family who live in sturdy, permanent structures to ensure their safety.

“If you are in a mobile home, it is NOT safe, and you MUST seek alternative shelter,” the agency wrote. “Your last resort is to lie low and flat on your stomach with your hands over your head in a ditch or ravine.”

Leon County sends out public safety alert to residents’ cell phones

At about 6:30 p.m. Leon County Emergency Management sent a rare “public safety alert” to cellphones around the county.

It reads “SEVERE WEATHER WARNING for Leon County early Sunday morning. Tornadoes and damaging winds are possible. Mobile homes residents should consider seeking shelter in a sturdy building with friends or family. Have multiple ways to receive alerts. If a warning is issued, take cover immediately in an interior room away from windows.”

The alert came out with the latest National Weather Service forecast calling for “a high-end severe event” in Tallahassee and “along and west of the U.S. 319 corridor.” A broken squall line is expected to produce supercell storms that can spawn “strong tornadoes and significant damaging wind and hail.”

Tallahassee NOAA weather radio is off the air again

As a storm system that spawned deadly tornadoes across the South approaches the Big Bend, the Tallahassee NOAA Weather Radio emergency broadcast is once again off the air.

“Obviously, the timing is terrible, but serves as a reminder to have multiple ways to receive weather updates,” the local agency wrote in a Facebook post.

This is the second recent local outage of the emergency system during a white knuckle period. The agency noted a trouble ticket has been opened with Verizon to address the issue.

Read more about the issue here.

County Emergency Management on alert for tornado, severe weather threat

Leon County Emergency Management is actively preparing for “the strongest storm system of 2025 so far,” according to an email to commissioners from County Administrator Vince Long. Here’s some of what Long said they county is doing as the storm system leaves a path of destruction to our west.

• “Staff is now convening regular conference calls to keep all state, County, City, and nonprofit partners apprised of changing conditions.”
• “Staff continue to share updated forecasts and preparedness information with City, County, and State partners. If conditions worsen, the County’s Emergency Operations Center may partially activate to monitor and respond to the severe weather.”
• “Public Works crews have finalized staffing schedules and prepared response vehicles.”
• “Teams stand ready to clear roadways of fallen trees or debris from strong winds and heavy rainfall.”

Forecast warns of EF-2 tornado and damaging wind threat for Tallahassee and north Florida

The main risk for north Florida is several possibly strong tornadoes, up to the destructive EF-2 level that includes sustained winds of 113 to 157 mph. Damaging gusts of 70-plus mph per winds and large hail are also possible.

“What starts out as a fairly benign morning will quickly change over the course of 6 to 12 hours, and then change further overnight as a squall line of storms, likely containing severe weather, arrives on our door step later tonight” and into the morning hours, National Weather Service Meteorologist Wright Dobbs wrote in an early afternoon forecast discussion of the unfolding threat.

The serious risks for north Florida begin as the squall line nears the state line and Pensacola in the midnight hours, bringing with it “all forms of severe hazards from damaging winds, large hail, and the potential for strong tornadoes,” according to Dobbs.

Dobbs warned residents that even if the squall line looks ragged or has holes that doesn’t mean it’s any less dangerous. He said that would allow “discrete supercells” that would support strong tornadoes and damaging wind.

“The main takeaway here is to not let your guard down based on any perceived late evening lull in activity off to the west, if a lull even happens,” he wrote.

When the storm reaches the Big Bend and Tallahassee area, the potential for such supercells lessen but the danger remains from a “damaging wind threat.”

“Given the very favorable low-level sheer profiles, even across the Big Bend and southern Georgia where instability is less, a tornadic threat will continue as well as the potential for more isolated hail,” he wrote.

While heavy rains of up to 2 inches can be expected, flooding is a lesser threat with these storms. However, already wet soil may cause downed trees and power outages.

More than 16 people have died already as monster storm hammers South and Midwest

At least 16 people have died amid an outbreak of severe weather across the South and Midwest that forecasters warn could include “violent” tornadoes, high winds, thunderstorms and flash flooding on Saturday.

Nearly 4 million people, mostly in Louisiana and Mississippi, were under tornado watches Saturday afternoon. A wind advisory blanked the nation from Michigan to Florida, covering more than 80 million people.

The dangerous weather comes as the monstrous March storm moves from coast-to-coast. The storm system spun up a tornado in Southern California, dumped snow on the Sierra Nevada, caused dangerous road conditions in Texas and spawned reported tornadoes in the South and Midwest overnight.

There were 10 tornado- and storm-related deaths across four counties in Missouri, the state’s highway patrol said Saturday morning. Two of those deaths and more injuries were caused by a suspected tornado that touched down in the Bakersfield area of southern Missouri, officials said. Photos posted to social media show damage to buildings and a vehicle. Elsewhere in the state, officials said trees and power lines were down and structures were damaged.

Three people also died and 29 were injured in Arkansas in connection with a storm system that caused damage across 16 counties overnight, the Arkansas Department of Public Safety said.

In the Texas Panhandle on Friday, a dust storm caused car crashes that killed three people, NBC News and the Associated Press reported. One vehicle wreck included a pileup of 38 cars there.

— Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY

How do you stay safe in a tornado?

NWS provides a good list of tips to keep in mind to stay safe in a tornado.

• Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building, a basement or safe room.
• Avoid windows.
• If in a mobile home or outdoors, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris. Sheds and storage facilities do not make safe shelter.
• If you’re at work or school, follow your tornado drill and proceed to your tornado shelter location quickly and calmly. Do not go to large open rooms such as cafeterias, gymnasiums or auditoriums.
• If you’re in a vehicle, drive to the nearest shelter. If you don’t think you can make it, get down in your car and cover your head, or abandon your car and seek shelter in a low lying area such as a ditch or ravine.

How to prepare for tornadoes or dangerous straight line winds

Nature is a force to be respected. In a worst-case scenario, there is little you can do to stop the catastrophe, but there are plenty of ways to be prepared for the unthinkable. Here are some tips the NWS provides:

• Be weather aware: Make sure you have multiple ways to receive warnings and regularly check the forecast. You should also learn and understand the difference between watches and warnings.
• Create an emergency plan with your family: This plan should include an emergency meeting place and related information, such as making sure everyone knows how to get in touch with each other if separated. It should also include a safe room within your home.
• Practice your plan: It might be easy to remember what to do during a tornado wherever you’re reading this from, but it can be just as easy to forget if you’re ever put into an actual situation. Practicing your plan can help your family instinctively act rather than relying solely on memory.
• Prepare your home: Just like in a hurricane, you’ll want to walk around the perimeter of your home and make sure there are no loose objects that could turn into a dangerous projectile in strong winds; check that trees and branches are trimmed near your home and be on the lookout for anything that needs to be moved indoors.