As spring break kicks into high gear, a strengthening storm system could put vacation plans on hold until at least Saturday morning across the South.

Starting Thursday, a low-pressure system will begin to produce showers and thunderstorms across east Texas. Some of these storms could become severe, increasing the risk of damaging gusts and hail. By the evening hours, this activity will spread east towards the lower Mississippi Valley. You can track the storms on the WeatherRadar.

Overnight Thursday through Friday, the storm system makes a b-line across the Gulf of Mexico, tapping into deep tropical moisture and intensifying. This will not only increase rain chances across Florida but also the risk of strong to severe storms just as spring break activity begins to ramp up for the weekend.

Friday looks to be stormy across much of the Sunshine State. Wind gusts could be as high as 40 mph along the beaches, with intermittent showers and several rounds of thunderstorms. Some of these storms could even become severe, introducing a risk for flash flooding, damaging winds, and a non-trivial tornado risk.

The good news is that if you’re anywhere from Texas to Alabama, Saturday looks like a much better beach day as rain chances decrease. Still, make sure to pack weather as it will be slightly cooler compared to earlier in the week with some lingering clouds still in place.

Meanwhile, folks planning to vacation in Florida, you may have to wait until Saturday afternoon as rain chances stay in place through the morning hours. The timing of these storms will be crucial for those vacation plans and may put the brakes on big South Florida events like Miami Music Week, one of the world's most popular music events.

Sunday will see much better conditions across the Florida Peninsula as high pressure builds in after the system and vacationers can resume their spring break plans.