Mardi Gras Storms: New Orleans, Hattiesburg, Mobile

By Anthony Sagliani, AccuWeather Meteorologist

Date: 12 February 2013 Time: 01:18 PM ET

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This article was provided by AccuWeather.com.

Severe weather will erupt again across the central gulf coast as low pressure emerges from eastern Texas Tuesday.

Cities caught in the crosshairs include some of the same locations hit by a swarm of tornadoes this past weekend.

New Orleans, Mobile, Tallahassee, Hattiesburg, Pensacola and Dothan all find themselves in the area of greatest risk. This time, however, the thunderstorms will not pack as much of a punch.

The greatest threats will come from damaging gusts of wind and hail, rather than the strong to violent tornadoes that struck on Sunday.

Still, a brief spin-up of a weak tornado cannot be ruled out across the region.

The best timing for these storms looks to be late in the day and toward night, though a stray thunderstorms can occur at any time in the unseasonably warm and soupy air.

If you'll be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras celebrations, it's a good idea to keep an eye on this situation. Plenty of delays are likely both on the roads and at the airports.

On top of the severe weather will also come the risk for significant flooding, especially from Hattiesburg to Montgomery and even Macon, a place that has seen exceptional drought for months on end.

If there is any shining light to be found on this situation, it is that the copious rainfall over the last several days will have substantial impact on improving the current drought situation across the Southeast.