Alert archive / Mississippi / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 63, NWS Mobile, AL

December 15, 1987Forrest County, Pearl River County, Mississippi

NWS Mobile, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Dec 15, 1987, 12:58 AM CST for Forrest County, Pearl River County, Mississippi. It was in force for 47 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Dec 15, 1987, 12:58 AM CST (06:58 UTC)
Expired
Dec 15, 1987, 1:45 AM CST
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Forrest County, MS, Pearl River County, MS

The radar

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

The nearest sounding before it

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 00:00Z, 7.0 hours before the alert went out and 162 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 00:00Z on 1987-12-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1492 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1987-12-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 176 square meters per square second.1939587897117136156Sfc1 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
1492 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
820 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
176 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
253 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.6
Supercell composite
8.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMOB 150658
SVRMOB
MSC035-109-150745-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1258 AM CST TUE DEC 15 1987
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  145 AM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI
          ...FORREST...PEARL.RIVER
 
MOBILE RADAR AT 1255 AM CST SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NORTHEAST
PEARL-RIVER COUNTY MOVING NORTHEAST AT 60 MPH.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS4.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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, Dec 15, 12:38 AM CST, 20 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1240 AM CST TUE DEC 15 1987

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHWEST ALABAMA AND
FORREST...LAMAR AND PERRY COUNTIES OF MISSISSIPPI...

AT 1230 AM...WEATHER SERVICE RADARS INDICATED SEVERAL LINES OF
THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI AND SOUTHWEST
ALABAMA.  THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE IN A LINE FROM JUST NORTH OF
LAUREL SOUTHWEST TO 10 MILES WEST OF HATTIESBURG TO 5 MILES SOUTHWEST
OF PICAYUNE IN MISSISSIPPI EXTENDING SOUTHWEST INTO LOUISIANA.  THE
LINE WAS MOVING TOWARD THE EAST AT 15 MPH WHILE INDIVIDUAL THUNDERSTORMS
WERE MOVING NORTHWARD UP TO LINE AT 50 MPH.

RESIDENTS OF LAMAR...FORREST AND PE	RRY COUNTIES OF MISSISSIPPI SHOULD
REMAIN ALERT AS THIS LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS APPROACHES.  SEVERE WEATHER
WARNINGS MAY BE ISSUED AT ANY TIME.
Special weather statement, Dec 15, 12:41 AM CST, 17 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENSACOLA FL
1235 AM CST TUE DEC 15 1987

A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MOST OF ALABAMA UNTIL 6AM THIS
MORNING. ALTHOUGH NO NORTHWEST FLORIDA COUNTIES HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN
THE WATCH AREA...NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING
THROUGH NORTHWEST FLORIDA FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. THE THUNDERSTORMS
COULD POSSIBLY BE SEVERE. PERSONS SHOULD KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST
WEATHER REPORTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE PROTECTIVE ACTION IF
THREATENING WEATHER DEVELOPES.

AT 1230 AM CST...NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS WERE
IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...FROM MOBILE NORTHWARD...AND IN NEIGHBORING
SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI. MOVEMENTS WERE NORTHEAST AT 50 TO 60 MILES AN
HOUR.

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Mississippi, 1987Every severe thunderstorm warning 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.