MOULTRIE, Ga. — Colquitt County seems likely to receive severe weather from a storm that’s already caused much damage across the country and is blamed for two deaths in Louisiana.

Justin Cox, director of the Colquitt County Emergency Management Agency, passed on information from the National Weather Service that warned of a squall line that will move through the area tonight or early Thursday.

“Scattered showers and storms (possibly severe) should move onshore to the Panhandle into southeast Alabama this afternoon and early evening,” the NWS overview stated. “A squall line then arrives ahead of a cold front tonight into Thursday morning. Strengthening winds preceding the line will also make for hazardous marine and beach conditions.”

The main threats from these storms will be damaging winds and a few tornadoes, the NWS said.

While the greatest risk areas are in southeast Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, Colquitt County is also in an area of slight risk, which is the second lowest of five categories.

A map included with the National Weather Service briefing estimated the timing of the squall line. Western Colquitt County is in an area expected to feel the impact between 4 and 7 a.m. Thursday; eastern Colquitt County is likely to feel the impact after 7 a.m.

A marginal risk of severe weather continues after 7 a.m. Marginal risk is the least of the weather service’s five categories of risk.

The storm fueling the squall line has ripped across the U.S. for two days. It spawned tornadoes that killed a young boy and his mother near Shreveport, Louisiana, while in the northern part of the country it brought blizzard-like conditions to the Great Plains. It was expected to push more snow and ice into Appalachia and New England.