The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fired hundreds of employees at the end of February, including meteorologists. Experts and scientists expressed concern that these cuts will affect forecasting systems’ reliability and accuracy.

"Florida this year will be fighting drier weather this spring. North Florida and the Panhandle will have the highest risk for severe weather and tornadoes," said Alexander Duffus, AccuWeather meteorologist and long-range severe weather expert, in a telephone interview.

Strong thunderstorms bring the potential for tornadoes are expected across portions of Florida this weekend and into Monday. What can Polk County expect?

The Seminole County Fire Department said a home in Longwood collapsed after "weather impacts." Others described it as a tornado.

Dangerous weather system moves to US East Coast, with warnings for high winds stretching from Florida to New Jersey.

In its spring 2025 forecast, AccuWeather predicts there will be 1,300 to 1,450 tornadoes across the United States, slightly above the historical average of 1,225 tornadoes. While Florida is expected to fare better than the rest of the country, the Florida Panhandle and North Florida have the highest risk of tornadoes this spring.

East central Florida: Expect partly sunny and warm conditions during most of the day. Conditions are favorable for storms to develop between 3 and 9 p.m. Storms could bring gusty winds near 50 mph, small hail and heavy rain, according to the National Weather Service Melbourne.

As storms move through the state, frequent lightning, damaging wind gusts up to 60 mph, coin-sized hail, and locally heavy rainfall are all possible across East Central Florida, along with the threat of an isolated tornado Wednesday and Wednesday night, according to the National Weather Service Melbourne.

The FOX 35 Storm Team has designated Sunday, March 16, as a Storm Alert Day due to the potential for severe weather, strong thunderstorms and tornadoes. With tornadoes being one of the main weather impacts,

People in Georgia and Alabama were given minutes to get to shelter after a possible tornado was spotted in the area. On Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Tallahassee, Florida, issued a special weather warning to alert people in three counties they needed to seek cover immediately as radar captured rotation from a storm capable of creating a tornado.