Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Jackson, MS

March 17, 1987Claiborne County, Mississippi

NWS Jackson, MS issued this tornado warning at Mar 17, 1987, 4:35 PM CST for Claiborne County, Mississippi. It was in force for 25 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Mar 17, 1987, 4:35 PM CST (22:35 UTC)
Expired
Mar 17, 1987, 5:00 PM CST
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Jackson, MS
Area
Whole counties

County Claiborne County, MS

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 17, 4:50 PM CSTTornado F0Claiborne, MS

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 87 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Jackson, MS at 12:00Z on 1987-03-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Jackson, MS at 12:00Z on 1987-03-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 103 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
0 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
103 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
275 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 17, 12:21 PM CST, 4 hours 14 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
1220 PM CST TUE MAR 17 1987

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 33 IS IN EFFECT FOR PART OF SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI
UNTIL 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON. TORNADOES.+..LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING
AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE. RESIDENTS OF THE
SOUTHWEST COUNTIES SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER
CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Mar 17, 2:10 PM CST, 2 hours 25 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
210 PM CST TUE MAR 17 1987

A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSZTORMS IS ENETERING SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI.
THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED JUST NORTH AND WEST OF
NATCHEZ. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING THROUGH NORTHERN ADAMS...WESTERN
JEFFERSON...AND WESTERN CLAIBORNE COUNTIES WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR.

STRONG GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY R'AIN...AND SMALL HAIL IS LIKELY WITH THE
PASSAGE OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS.

PEOPLE IN THE SOUTHWST MISSISSIPPI SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR
THE WATHER THIS AFTERNOON AS THIS STORM SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH.
Special weather statement, Mar 17, 2:15 PM CST, 2 hours 20 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
210 PM CST TUE MAR 17 1987

A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IS ENTERING SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI.
THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED JUST NORTH AND WEST OF
NATCHEZ. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING THROUGH NORTHERN ADAMS...WESTERN
JEFFERSON...AND WESTERN CLAIBORNE COUNTIES WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR.

STRONG GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY+ RAIN...AND SMALL HAIL IS LIKELY WITH THE
PASSAGE OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS.

PEOPLE IN SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR
THE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON AS THIS STORM SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH.

...SEVERAL SPELLING CORRECTIONS WERE MADE....
Special weather statement, Mar 17, 3:07 PM CST, 1 hour 28 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
305 PM CST TUE MAR 17 1987

...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 33 IS STILL IN EFFECT UNTIL 4PM FOR
   SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPPI...

STRONG THUNDERSTORM CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTHEAST UP THE MISSISSIPPI
RIVER. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN EXTREME SOUTHWEST
WARREN COUNTY AT 3 PM. IT WILL BE MOVING NEAR VICKSBURG BETWEEN 330
AND 400 PM THIS AFTERNOON.

BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WfINDS...AND SMALL HAIL IS LIKELY
WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM.

PEOPLE IN SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR
THE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON AS THIS STORM SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH.
Special weather statement, Mar 17, 4:00 PM CST, 35 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
405 PM CST TUE MAR 17 1987

...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 34 IS STILL IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM FOR CENTRAL
                     AND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI...

AT 405 PM...RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS COVERED MOST OF THE WESTERN HALF
OF MISSISSIPPI.  THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE OVER MADISON...ADAMS..
JEFFERSON AND CLAIBORNE COUNTIES.

ALTHOUGH THESE STORMS DO NOT APPEAR TO BE SEVERE AT THE PRESENT TIME...
THEY COULD INTENSIFY RAPIDLY AT ANY TIME.  HEAVY RAINFALL...GUSTY WIND
AND SMALL HAIL IS LIKELY WITH THE HEAVIER STORMS AS THEY MOVE NORTHEAST
AT 50 MILES PER HOUR.

PERSONS IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE
LAT%EST WEATHER STATEMENTS IN THIS RAPIDLY-CHANGING SITUATION...AND BE
PREPARED TO TAKE QUICK PROTECTIVE ACTION IF A WARNING IS ISSUED OR THE
WEATHER BECOMES THREATENING.
Special weather statement, Mar 17, 4:09 PM CST, 26 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MERIDIAN MS
410 PM CST TUE MAR 17 1987

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 34 CONTINUES TO BE IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF EAST
CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI UNTIL 1000 PM CST.

AT 400 PM CST RADAR SHOWED A 6 MILE WIDE AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS THAT
EXTENDED FROM JUST WEST OF UNION TO NEAR NEWTON.  THIS AREA OF
STORMS WAS MOVING NORTH AT 35 MPH.

RESIDENTS IN NEWTON AND NESHOBA COUNTIES OF EAST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI
ARE UR+GED TO REMAIN WEATHER ALERT FOR THE NEXT 45 TO 60 MINUTES AS
THESE STORMS PASS THROUGH THE AREA.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Jackson, MS issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 17, 3:11 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANAdams26 min
Mar 17, 4:31 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningJANWarren119 min
Mar 17, 4:47 PM CSTTornado WarningJANHinds28 min
Mar 17, 5:25 PM CSTTornado WarningJANClaiborne, Jefferson30 min
Mar 17, 5:44 PM CSTTornado WarningJANHinds, Rankin31 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 1987Every tornado warning in 1987Tornadoes in 1987

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.