When it comes to severe weather events like tornadoes and flash floods, what's the difference between a watch and warning, and which is worse?

There is the potential for severe weather across the southeastern parts of the United States over the next several days, including Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia. On Sunday, that severe weather threat extends into north and central Florida.

The North Texas region is under critical or extreme fire threats on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. As a result of those very high winds, and also extremely low relative humidity, a red flag warning is in place for most of North Texas from 11 a.

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for parts of the Chicago area Friday, with wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour in the forecast. The warning comes as wind advisories and high wind watches were also been issued across the Chicago area both Friday and Saturday.

In Oklahoma, red flag warnings are issued when conditions such as high temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds create a heightened risk of wildfires, urging residents to take extra precautions.