Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NATCHEZ — During the onset of storms Tuesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is reporting that its weather radio station KIH-48, which is operating out of Bude was off the air.

Eric Carpenter, meteorologist with the Jackson National Weather Service, confirmed Tuesday that their was an issue with the phone line connecting to the Bude station, which was currently being worked on at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

“They’re trying to get it back on as soon as possible with the highest priority to be repaired,” Carpenter said. “Hopefully will be back up at any moment if not already.”

The outage affects NOAA weather alerts in the service area of Adams, Amite, Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin, Hinds, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marion, Pike, Simpson, Walthall, and Wilkinson counties.

Adams County Emergency Management Director Robert Bradford said the county has other means of receiving weather alerts and asked those using weather radios in the Adams County area to stay alert to weather sirens and the CODE Red alert system, which are active.

The National Weather Service at Jackson says Adams County is under a tornado watch until 6 p.m. Tuesday, at which time the weather event should be over for the area.

Adams County is experiencing an enhanced risk for severe storms where damaging winds up to 70 mph, localized flash flooding in low lying areas and golf ball sized hail and tornadoes are possible, said Jackson National Weather Service meteorologist Latrice Maxie.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, Maxie said the storm system is beginning western Louisiana and the worst of it is expected to move through the Adams County area in the early afternoon.