Gulf Coast thunderstorms bubble up above a blanket of clouds in this GOES East view from April 5, 2019. The southern U.S. is bracing for several days of severe weather as thunderstorms that could produce damaging winds, large hail, heavy rainfall and a few tornadoes stretch from the Southern Plains across the Southeast, according to the National Weather Service.

The severe weather threat for parts of the southern U.S. stretches well into the weekend, with another round of strong thunderstorms barreling through the region on Saturday.

This GeoColor enhanced imagery was created by NOAA's partners at the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere. The GOES East satellite, also known as GOES-16, provides geostationary satellite coverage of the Western Hemisphere, including the United States, the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. First launched in late 2016, the satellite became fully operational in December 2017.