Tornado watch for New Orleans area until 7 a.m. Thursday

The National Weather Service warned Wednesday (Oct. 31) that widespread storms were expected in the New Orleans area after midnight.

Strong to severe thunderstorms could come with damaging winds as strong as 70 mph, large hail and isolated tornadoes, the NWS reported. The New Orleans area is at greatest risk between about 3 a.m. until 9 a.m., and the Baton Rouge area could see storms arrive shortly after midnight. Locally heavy rainfall of 2 to 4 inches was forecast.

New Orleans emergency officials urged residents to move vehicles to high ground after 10 p.m., when parking restrictions on neutral grounds and sidewalks will be suspended. City government offices will not open until 10 a.m. Thursday, Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s office said.

At 11 p.m., the NWS issued a tornado watch for the area until 7 a.m.

Because of the forecast, several area school districts announced delays starts on Thursday.

School districts set delayed schedules ahead of severe weather threat Thursday

The Storm Prediction Center said there’s a slight risk of severe weather Thursday along the coast eastward into the Florida Panhandle. The threat extended northward into southern Mississippi, south Alabama and southwestern Georgia.

Forecasters said there’s a reduced risk of bad weather in an area that extended to the north and all the way east to the Carolinas.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.