Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Jackson, MS

February 28, 1987Jones County, Mississippi

NWS Jackson, MS issued this tornado warning at Feb 28, 1987, 8:58 AM CST for Jones County, Mississippi. It was in force for 32 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
Feb 28, 1987, 8:58 AM CST (14:58 UTC)
Expired
Feb 28, 1987, 9:30 AM CST
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Jackson, MS
Area
Whole counties

County Jones 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
Feb 28, 9:05 AM CSTTornado F4Jones, 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, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 116 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 1987-02-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 98 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Jackson, MS at 12:00Z on 1987-02-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 245 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
98 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-119 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
638 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
245 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
345 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KMEI 281458
TORMEI
MSC067-281530-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MERIDIAN MS
858 AM CST SAT FEB 28 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 930 AM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF

EAST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI...JONES


  AT 855 AM CST RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 15 MILES
  SOUTHWEST OF LAUREL MISSISSIPPPI MOVING NORTHEAST AT 595 MPH.

 IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO..GO TO A BASEMENT SHELTER
 OR A CENTRAL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. ABANDON CARS AND
 MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING.                            ]

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, Feb 28, 3:57 AM CST, 5 hours 1 minute before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
345 AM CST SAT FEB 28 1987

AT 345 AM CST...RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WITH HAIL
INDICATED 25 MILES SOUTHWEST OF YAZOO CITY. OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
WERE OCCURRING OVER THE DELTA AND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI. SOME OF THE HEAVIER
THUNDERSTORMS WERE BETWEEN GREENVILLE AND PHILADELPHIA...NORTH OF
VICKSBURG AND 20 MILES WEST OF MCCOMB.

OTHER THUNDERSTORMS AND LIGHT RAIN WERE OCCURRING OVER WEST AND NORTH
MISSISSIPPI.

MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 60 MILES AN HOUR.
Special weather statement, Feb 28, 7:17 AM CST, 1 hour 41 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MERIDIAN MS
735 AM CST SAT FEB 28 1987

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 22 REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI. THE WATCH INCLUDES ALL COUNTIES IN EAST
CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI.

AT 713 RADAR INDICATED THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED
IN SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MILES AN HOUR.
ELSEWHERE RADAR INDICATED ONLY SCATTERED RAINSHOWERS.
Special weather statement, Feb 28, 8:42 AM CST, 16 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MERIDIAN MS
840 AM CST SAT FEB 28 1987

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 22 REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 100 PM FOR MOST
OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI. THE WATCH INCLUDES ALL COUNTIES
IN EAST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI.

THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH WHICH INCLUDES ALL COUNTIES IN EAST CENTRAL
MISSISSIPPI AND EXTREME WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA.

AT 830 AM CST RADAR INDICATED THAT STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING
INTO SOUTHWEST JASPER AND JONES COUNTIES. THESE STORMS SRE PRODUCING
HEAVY RAIN, DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND STRONG WINDS. THESE THUNDERSTORMS
ARE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50-55 MILES AN HOUR.

EVERYONE SHOULD BE ON THE ALERT FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE THUNDER#-
STORMS AND FLASH FLOODING AS THESE STORMS MOVE THROUGH.
Special weather statement, Feb 28, 8:50 AM CST, 8 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MERIDIAN MS
840 AM CST SAT FEB 28 1987

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 22 REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 100 PM FOR MOST
OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI. THE WATCH INCLUDES ALL COUNTIES
IN EAST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI.

THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH WHICH INCLUDES ALL COUNTIES IN EAST CENTRAL
MISSISSIPPI AND EXTREME WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA REMAINS IN EFFECT.

AT 830 AM CST RADAR INDICATED THAT STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING
INTO SOUTHWEST JASPER AND JONES COUNTIES. THESE STORMS SRE PRODUCING
HEAVY RAIN, DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND STRONG WINDS. THESE THUNDERSTORMS
ARE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50-55 MILES AN HOUR.

EVERYONE SHOULD BE ON THE ALERT FOR THE POSSIBI0LITY OF SEVERE THUNDER-
STORMS AND FLASH FLOODING AS THESE STORMS MOVE THROUGH.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 28, 2:26 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANWarren34 min
Feb 28, 3:07 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANIssaquena, Sharkey38 min
Feb 28, 8:28 AM CSTTornado WarningJANRankin, Simpson32 min
Feb 28, 8:53 AM CSTTornado WarningJANScott, Smith37 min
Feb 28, 9:14 AM CSTTornado WarningJANJasper46 min
Feb 28, 9:29 AM CSTTornado WarningJANClarke, Wayne31 min
Feb 28, 9:46 AM CSTTornado WarningJANLauderdale44 min
Feb 28, 10:28 AM CSTTornado WarningJANKemper34 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.