Flash flood warning issued for most of Southeast Missouri

The National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., has issued a flash flood warning for much of Southeast Missouri, including large sections of Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Perry and Scott counties.

The warning follows a tornado warning that expired at 7:30 p.m.

The warning is in effect until 1:30 a.m.

Strong storms are expected to keep moving through the area tonight, some of them with the ability to produce an inch of rain per hour or more.

People need to "Be aware of what's going on," said Richard Knaup with the Cape Girardeau County Emergency Operations Center.

The region is currently experiencing pea to marble sized hailstones, localized flooding in areas in north Cape Girardeau County, north of Highway 72, Knaup said. No accidents have been reported as of 8:50 pm.

At the same time the National Weather Service was reporting a tornado in Stoddard County, Mo., near Dexter, moving east.