HUNTSVILLE — Schools, businesses and even Marshall Space Flight Center and Redstone Arsenal are closing early today around the region due to anticipated severe weather.

“A line of strong to severe storms will move through the Tennessee Valley today, during the afternoon into this evening,” the National Weather Service’s Huntsville office said. “Storms will be capable of producing heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding, damaging winds, hail, and a tornado (a strong tornado cannot be ruled out).”

The line is ahead of a cold front that will bring near-freezing temperatures overnight with highs Friday in the 40s.

Severe weather is not an anomaly for February. As temperatures increase and the jet stream often begins to shift, the area at a higher risk for tornadoes increases. Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico can surge northward as low-pressure systems track eastward across the U.S.