Tornado Risk Follows Record Warmth

The temperature in the central Missouri college town of Columbia reached 77 degrees on Monday, a record high for January. The spring-like conditions came after a spell of freezing rain, and forecasts predict early-morning snow on Wednesday.

The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., says the risks of tornadoes touching down Tuesday is greatest in northeast Texas, northern Louisiana, northwest Mississippi, southeast Missouri and much of Arkansas. That system is expected to hit much of the eastern United States on Wednesday.