Severe thunderstorms in the form of several squall lines with embedded supercell thunderstorms are expected from now through this afternoon across central and northern Florida and coastal parts of Georgia, South Carolina and southern North Carolina. Damaging wind gusts, large hail and a few tornadoes are all expected with these storms.

Central & Northern Florida: Severe thunderstorms have developed in the area from Ocala to Daytona Beach and these storms are exhibiting supercell structure. Other severe thunderstorms are developing over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico and these storms are likely to impact northern Florida by midday and continuing through early this afternoon and then impact central Florida by mid-afternoon and continue until this evening. These storms are expected to take the form of southwest to northeast oriented squall lines with embedded supecell thunderstorms.

Damaging wind gusts are expected to be the primary threat across northern Florida from now to about 3 pm this afternoon and across central Florida from about 2 pm to 7 pm today with large hail a very close second. Given the very strong low-level wind shear present, a few tornadoes are also expected this afternoon across northern and central Florida.

Southeastern Georgia, Coastal South Carolina & Coastal Southern North Carolina: Strong to severe thunderstorms are expected to develop across southeastern Georgia and coastal South Carolina by early this afternoon and then propagate into southern North Carolina by late this afternoon. The thunderstorms are expected to push offshore of the southeast US coast this evening.

The storms this afternoon will pose a threat for damaging wind gusts, hail and a couple of tornadoes.

Preparedness Tips:
– Be sure you can hear tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings. Never rely on an outdoor warning siren. Have a NOAA Weather Radio in your home or business, and a good app designed for warnings on your smart phone like WeatherRadio by WDT.

– Know the safe place in your home. Small room, lowest floor, away from windows, and near the center of the house. If you live in a mobile home, you have to leave and go to a shelter or site built structure.

– In your safe place, be sure you have a helmet for everyone to wear to protect your head from flying or falling debris. Also, make sure everyone has a portable air to get the attention of first responders if you need help. Finally, make sure you have hard sole shoes on hand in your safe place. You don’t want to walk over a tornado debris field with tennis shoes, or bare feet.