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?

People across the U.S. experienced whirlwind weather, with widespread storms bringing heavy rain and strong winds as a powerful system brought severe weather to parts of the central and eastern U.S.

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.

Debris rained down outside as the meteorologist shouted: "Get under your desks, guys! Anchors—under your desks! Producers—everybody, get under your desks!"

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,