A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Southwest Louisiana until 2 a.m. Monday morning.

“We are not expecting this being on the same level or magnitude of weather we saw a few weeks ago,” National Weather Service Lake Charles meteorologist Donald Jones said. “Some areas could see damage, some areas could see tornadoes but I don’t anticipate it being on the same level as what we saw a few weeks ago.”

Jones said gradient winds will remain gusty tonight into Monday morning as this severe weather event develops across the region.

Vernon Parish was included in the initial tornado watch issued Sunday afternoon. He expects all of Southwest Louisiana to eventually be included in the watch as the evening progresses.

In additional to tornadoes, heavy rainfall, hail and heavy wind gusts are all possible.

He said 3-plus inches of rain is expected, Jones said.

The area is under a flash flood watch through 7 p.m. Monday.

The highest probability of rainfall will start at about 3 a.m. Monday and is expected to last through about 2 p.m.

The Calcasieu Parish School Board is expected to make a decision on possible school closures at about 8:30 p.m. tonight.