Tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds expected in the South today

Severe weather ranging from tornadoes, large hail and damaging wind gusts are expected to blanket parts of the South on Tuesday, placing 11 million people in nine states under threat as the storms approach.

Residents in northeastern Louisiana into central Mississippi will be effected the most, with some tornadoes gaining intensity into the overnight hours, according to the NWS. Mississippi cities at risk for large hail and tornadoes include Jackson, Vicksburg, Starkville and Meridian. In those areas, the severe weather threat is 4, with 5 being the highest, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Damaging wind gusts are expected in the mid-Mississippi Valley and the Tennessee Valley.

The severe weather is expected to begin in the early afternoon and last through the early evening into the night, with some tornadoes expected to be intense.

"All forms of severe weather will be likely with this severe weather outbreak, including large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes," said Mike Chesterfield, director of Weather Presentation at The Weather Channel. "Numerous tornadoes are possible, some capable of becoming long-tracked tornadoes with damage potential."

The cause of the storm, Chesterfield said, is a cold front.

"A strong cold front will be sweeping eastward into warm moist air today into tonight helping to spawn numerous rounds of severe thunderstorms ahead of it," he said. "The severe thunderstorm and tornado threat will be enhanced by winds which will be turning with height along with strong jet stream energy moving in overhead."

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency used their Twitter account  on Tuesday to warn residents to prepare for power outages and stay off the roads if possible.