Severe storms to peter out moving east

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The severe weather moving east and threatening Mississippi and parts of Louisiana should fizzle out by the time the storms reach mid-Alabama, sparing Georgia and Tennessee the flooding and tornadoes experienced elsewhere.

The greatest threat for the Southeast will be strong, damaging winds, said Joe Schaefer, director of the Storm Prediction Center.

"We don't have any severe forecasts for tomorrow," Schaefer said. "The activity will be today."

The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for parts of east, central and southeast Mississippi, and they remained in effect until early Thursday afternoon.

"We are looking at the possibility of tornadoes and a very good chance of damaging winds," Schaefer said. "Strong wind gusts will be happening throughout eastern Mississippi and western Alabama."

The severe weather creating those conditions will dissipate before reaching Georgia and Tennessee, Schaefer said, but that doesn't mean there won't be rain. The front will usher in cooler temperatures in the southern regions experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures, he said.

Heavy, prolonged rains prompted the weather service to put a considerable portion of Kentucky under flood watch until 5 a.m. Friday.