By Heather Buchman, Meteorologist

The threat for tornadoes continues along the central Gulf Coast this morning with several reports of twisters in Kenner and Lacombe, La.

According to the report from Lacombe, a tornado ripped off the roof of a home.

Around 6:30 CST this morning, the line of thunderstorms responsible for the tornado reports was moving through New Orleans, which just finished its Mardi Gras celebrations.

A hurricane-force wind gust of 77 mph was measured at New Orleans International Airport as the thunderstorms blasted through. In just a half an hour, 3 inches of rain fell.

The severe thunderstorms first erupted Tuesday across northeastern Texas, reportedly spawning several tornadoes near Brookston, Detroit and Clarksville, Texas. The thunderstorms continued on to produce damaging winds and large hail farther south and east across Arkansas, Louisiana and southern Mississippi overnight into this morning.

The threat of tornadoes will continue through at least the early part of today as the dangerous thunderstorms prowl farther east across the South, tearing through the Florida Panhandle and southern parts of Alabama and Georgia.

Biloxi, Miss., Mobile, Ala., and Pensacola, Fla., are included in this zone.

In addition to the potential for a few more tornadoes to touch down, more widespread impacts with the thunderstorms will be damaging winds and torrential rainfall.

Flash flooding is the biggest concern with thunderstorms farther north across Alabama and moving into northern Georgia. Later today into tonight, this threat will extend into the Carolinas.

Flooding is also a concern with heavy rain even farther north that will be spreading from the Appalachians into parts of the mid-Atlantic today into tonight.