Houston, Brownsville and Corpus Christi, Texas, and Lake Charles and Shreveport, La., are among the cities at risk for the severe storms.

According to Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski, “A dozen or so tornadoes are possible with this severe weather situation.”

Moisture-rich air streaming in from the Gulf of Mexico is setting the stage for thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes.

“Of these, a small handful could reach F-2 status or higher, especially factoring in extra atmospheric volatility from daytime heating this afternoon into the evening,” Sosnowski added.

The storms will also produce damaging wind gusts greater than 60 mph, large hail, torrential downpours and frequent lightning. Trees and power lines could be downed by winds, leading to power outages and property damage, while hail threatens to damage siding on homes and dent vehicles.

Overnight, thunderstorms will expand eastward across eastern Louisiana and western Mississippi, putting New Orleans at risk. The thunderstorms will be less widespread and vigorous after the sun goes down, but there could be a few nasty storms with torrential downpours and locally damaging wind gusts.

Torrential rain and thunderstorms will also rattle portions of the Tennessee Valley at night. The biggest concern in this zone will be flash flooding and dangerous lightning.

With nearly two-thirds of Texas still under an exceptional drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the rain will be beneficial. This is true even despite short-term impacts such as flash flooding.

AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski stated that while the rain will not end the drought, it will “definitely put a significant dent in it.”