Schools letting out early, power outages due to severe weather threat

A tornado watch is in effect until 2 p.m. today for West Mississippi, Northeast Louisiana and Southeast Arkansas.
"Everyone needs to be on guard tomorrow," said Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Executive Director Robert Latham on Sunday evening. "The key is to have a plan and not panic."

National Weather Service forecasters updated MEMA Sunday about a strong cold front will begin moving into north and west Mississippi Monday afternoon and continue south and east through the night.
All kinds of severe weather are possible with this system, including damaging winds, heavy rains, hail and even tornadoes, a release from MEMA said.
A large portion of the middle part of the state will have an elevated risk for damaging winds, possibly upwards of 60 miles per hour, as well as possible tornadoes and small hail through Monday afternoon and into Monday night, according to the NWS.
"We are entering our fall severe weather period as big temperature swings occur with these systems" said Latham. "Please don't rely on any one way of getting weather alerts, make sure you have several."
The Mississippi Red Cross is on alert and has volunteers ready to respond, said regional disaster officer Bob Devaney.
"Our emergency response vehicles are ready to roll," Devaney said. "We urge everyone to take a few simple steps that can help save lives during severe weather. Be on your guard and have a plan."