A tornado watch has been issued for the entire region until midnight. This is a particularly dangerous situation (PDS).

or PDS, tornado warnings in effect. The first is near Lake City, where a tornado emergency has just been issued -- impacting parts of Craighead and Poinsett counties and potentially crossing right ...

That means a tornado has been spotted by a trained spotter and/or law enforcement. Particularly Dangerous Situation Confirmed Tornadoes: You might see this line in warnings for radar confirmed or ...