The Latest on severe weather in the South (all times local):
9:40 a.m.
Forecasters say the area at highest risk of severe storms and tornadoes Friday is home to 9.7 million people in the Carolinas and Virginia and includes the Charlotte, North Carolina metro area.
The national Storm Prediction Center says that area will be at moderate risk of severe weather and tornadoes will be possible Friday.
The National Weather Service in Raleigh, North Carolina, says that torrential downpours, large hail and a few tornadoes are among the hazards.
Strong storms were rumbling through Georgia on Friday, after killing two Mississippi drivers and a woman in Alabama and leaving more than 100,000 people without power across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.
9 a.m.
Strong storms are roaring across the South on Friday, after killing two Mississippi drivers and a woman in Alabama and leaving more than 100,000 people without power across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.
The threat Friday shifted to Georgia, where multiple tornado warnings covered parts of northeast Georgia. There were no immediate reports of any damage from those storms, but the tornado threat was expected to continue well into the day in the Carolinas and Virginia.
National Weather Service forecasters said they believe multiple tornadoes hit southwest and central Mississippi on Thursday, although they wont be sure until the damage is surveyed. Heavy winds also were reported in Louisiana earlier in the day and in central Alabama as the system quickly pushed eastward.
