Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Jackson, MS

May 3, 1988Copiah County, Mississippi

NWS Jackson, MS issued this tornado warning at May 3, 1988, 11:42 PM CDT for Copiah County, Mississippi. It was in force for 18 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 3, 1988, 11:42 PM CDT (04:42 UTC)
Expired
May 4, 1988, 12:00 AM CDT
In force
18 min
Issued by
NWS Jackson, MS
Area
Whole counties

County Copiah 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, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 61 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 1988-05-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 152 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 1988-05-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 52 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
152 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1779 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
52 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
160 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KJAN 040444
TORJAN
MSC029-040500-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
1142 PM CDT TUE MAY 3 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI
          ...EASTERN COPIAH
 
AT 1142 PM CDT...RADAR CONTINUES TO SHOW A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN
COPIAH COUNTY BETWEEN HAZELHURST AND WESSON. THIS STORM HAS SIGNS OF A
POSSIBLE FUNNEL CLOUD OR TORNADO ASSOCIATED WITH IT. THE STORM IS
MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH AND WILL BE MOVING SOUTH OF GEORGETOWN IN THE
NEXT 15 MINUTES.
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 3, 11:10 PM CDTTornado WarningJANCopiah35 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes in 1988

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.