Tallahassee, Florida – Strong storms moving across the Florida Big Bend and South Georgia could produce tornadoes and damaging wind through early Monday afternoon, putting thousands of residents from Tallahassee to Valdosta under a Tornado Watch until 2 p.m.
According to the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, Tornado Watch 65 includes 11 Florida counties and 15 counties in South Georgia as bands of thunderstorms track east across the region Monday morning. The watch remains active until 2 p.m. EDT for areas including Leon, Wakulla, Taylor, Madison, Jefferson, and Franklin counties in Florida, along with Lowndes, Thomas, Tift, Cook, Colquitt, and Decatur counties in Georgia.
Tallahassee, Monticello, and Quincy could see brief tornadoes, wind gusts over 60 mph, and intense lightning as storms push through the Big Bend during the late morning and early afternoon hours. Emergency managers warn that sudden downpours may reduce visibility on major routes including Interstate 10 and U.S. 319.
South Georgia communities such as Valdosta, Tifton, Moultrie, and Thomasville also fall inside the watch area where rotating storms may develop quickly. Local officials urge residents to keep phones charged and monitor weather alerts in case warnings are issued.
Farther west, Calhoun County in the Florida Panhandle remains under a separate Tornado Watch until 11 a.m. CDT as storms continue moving east across the region.
Mariners in Apalachee Bay and coastal waters from Mexico Beach to the Suwannee River should expect rapidly changing conditions with thunderstorms capable of producing waterspouts.
More advisories or tornado warnings could be issued with little notice through Monday afternoon as storms continue tracking across the Florida Big Bend and South Georgia.
