Alert archive / Mississippi / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 8, NWS Mobile, AL

March 17, 1987Hancock County, Pearl River County, Mississippi

NWS Mobile, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 17, 1987, 9:45 PM CST for Hancock County, Pearl River County, Mississippi. It was in force for 60 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, 9:45 PM CST (03:45 UTC)
Expired
Mar 17, 1987, 10:45 PM CST
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Hancock 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 17, 10:40 PM CSTThunderstorm Wind 0Hancock, 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

Boothville, LA (KBVE), launched 00:00Z, 3.8 hours before the alert went out and 140 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, Boothville, LA at 00:00Z on 1987-03-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 937 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, Boothville, LA at 00:00Z on 1987-03-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 526 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
937 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-48 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
541 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
526 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
619 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
14.7

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 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, Mar 17, 5:40 PM CST, 4 hours 5 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE, AL.
540 PM CST TUE MAR 17 1987

...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 34 IS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI
   COUNTIES OF LAMAR..FORREST..PERRY..PEARL-RIVER..STONE AND HANCOCK
    HANCOCK UNTIL 10 PM...

MOBILE RADAR AT 535 PM CST SHOWED ONLY A FEW WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS
JUST OFF SHORE ALONG THE COASTAL SECTIONS OF MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA.
OTHER RADARS SHOWED A LARGE AREA OF RAIN WITH VERY STRONG STORMS OVER
SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI THEN SOUTHWEST INTO LOUISIANA. HEAVIEST STORMS
WERE FROM SOUTH OF JACKSON TO THE BATON ROUGE AREA WITH MOVEMENT TO THE
NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

RESIDENTS IN THE EFFECTED COUNTIES SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR CHANGING
WEATHER AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SAFE SHELTER IF SEVERE WEATHER IS
SIGHTED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR LOCAL AREA.
Special weather statement, Mar 17, 8:00 PM CST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE, AL.
800 PM CST TUE MAR 17 1987

...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 34 IS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI
   COUNTIES OF LAMAR..FORREST..PERRY..PEARL-RIVER..STONE AND HANCOCK
   UNTIL 10 PM...

MOBILE RADAR AT 755 PM CST SHOWED THE LEADING EDGE OF THE VERY HEAVY
THUNDERSTORMS ARE ENTERING THE WESTERN PART OF LAMAR AND PEARL-RIVER
COUNTIES OF SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI. OTHER SHOWERS WERE SCATTERED OVER
SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI AND THEIR COASTAL WATERS. THE STORMS WERE TRACKING
TO THE NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

RESIDENTS IN THE EFFECTED COUNTIES SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR CHANGING
WEATHER AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SAFE SHELTER IF SEVERE WEATHER IlS
SIGHTED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR LOCAL AREA.

LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO..COMMERICAL RADIO OR TV FOR LATER STATEMENTS
ON THIS WEATHER PROBLEM AS IT TRACES EAST ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Mobile, AL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 17, 10:25 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningMOBForrest, Perry3 hr
Mar 17, 10:30 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBHarrison, Stone45 min
Mar 17, 11:30 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBGeorge, Jackson60 min
Mar 18, 1:32 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBJackson48 min

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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.