The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch until noon for the western half of Alabama, including Jefferson County but not including Blount County.

The watch is issued in advance of a line of strong thunderstorms that, as of 8 a.m., stretched from Pascagoula to Holly Springs in Mississippi and northward to Jonesboro, Arkansas, with much of the line just west of the Alabama-Mississippi state line.

At least one tornado has already been spotted in this line of storms in southern Mississippi, with damage to houses and utilities there.

The line of storms is expected to reach metro Birmingham as early as 10:30 a.m. As the line progresses eastward, more counties may be added to the watch area.