Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 29, NWS Jackson, MS

November 4, 1988Simpson County, Mississippi

NWS Jackson, MS issued this tornado warning at Nov 4, 1988, 3:44 PM CST for Simpson County, Mississippi. It was in force for 31 min. 2 reports 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
Nov 4, 1988, 3:44 PM CST (21:44 UTC)
Expired
Nov 4, 1988, 4:15 PM CST
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Jackson, MS
Area
Whole counties

County Simpson 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
Nov 4, 3:45 PM CSTThunderstorm Wind 0Simpson, MS
Nov 4, 4:00 PM CSTHail 1.75Simpson, 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, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 48 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 1988-11-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1168 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 12:00Z on 1988-11-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 194 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
1168 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-27 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
613 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
194 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
171 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.7
Supercell composite
4.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KJAN 042145
TORJAN
MSC127-042215-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
344 PM CST FRI NOV 4 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  415 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI
          ...SIMPSON
 
AT 342 PM CST...RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 10 MILES WEST
NORTHWEST OF MAGEE IN EASTERN SIMPSON COUNTY MOVING TOWARD THE EAST AT
20 MPH. PEOPLE AROUND MAGEE SHOULD TAKE COVER.
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS IN AN
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  GET UNDER STURDY FURNITURE.
USE PILLOWS OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR HEAD.
<

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, Nov 4, 1:54 PM CST, 1 hour 50 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
150 PM CST FRI NOV 4 1988

        ...THUNDERSTORMS INCREASING RAPIDLY OVER MISSISSIPPI...

A STRONG STORM SYSTEM OVER THE PLAIN STATES AND A COLD FRONT ARE
MOVING EASTWARD TOWARD MISSISSIPPI. THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO PUSH INTO
WESTERN MISSISSIPPI TONIGHT...BUT NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS HAVE ALREADY
DEVELOPED IN A BAND FROM NEAR VICKSBURG TO OXFORD.

AT 140 PM...ONE OF THESE STORMS PRODUCED PEA TO MARBLE SIZED HAIL AT
WINONA IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE THROUGHOUT
THE AFTERNOON WITH SOME OF THE STORMS LIKELY BECOMING SEVERE. A TORNADO
WATCH NOW COVERS PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI UNTIL 700 PM AND
OTHER WATCHES WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED FOR OTHER PORTIONS OF THE STATE
LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
<
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WANTS MISSISSIPPIANS TO BE AWARE OF
THE THREATENING WEATHER SITUATION THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.  PEOPLE
ARE URGED TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE SKY AND BE READY TO TAKE COVER IF A
WARNING IS ISSUED OR IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
Special weather statement, Nov 4, 3:27 PM CST, 17 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MERIDIAN MS
 325 PM CST FRI NOV 4 1988

 TORNADO WATCHS ARE IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF MISSISSIPPI AND PARTS
OF ALABAMA FOR THE REST OF THIS AFTERNOON AND SOME OF THIS EVENING.

THESE WATCHS INCLUDE ALL COUNITES IN EAST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI AND
SUMTER COUNTY IN EXTREME WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA.

AT 320 PM CST MERIDIAN RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS
EXTENDED ALONG AND 60 MILES NORTH AND WEST OF A LINE FROM PRENTISS
TO CARTHAGE MISSISSIPPI TO TUSCALOOSA ALABAMA. THE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS
WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH WHILE THE INDIVIDUAL THUNDERSTORMS WERE
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

NUMEROUS SEVERE WEATHER WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT ALONG THIS LINE OF
THUNDERSTORMS. <<

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 4, 2:05 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANHolmes25 min
Nov 4, 2:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANYazoo57 min
Nov 4, 2:27 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANHinds, Warren33 min
Nov 4, 2:33 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANHolmes27 min
Nov 4, 2:39 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANWarren51 min
Nov 4, 2:57 PM CSTTornado WarningJANHinds48 min
Nov 4, 3:01 PM CSTTornado WarningJANAttala44 min
Nov 4, 3:07 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANYazoo38 min
Nov 4, 3:23 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANMadison52 min
Nov 4, 3:36 PM CSTTornado WarningJANHinds54 min
Nov 4, 3:41 PM CSTTornado WarningJANRankin49 min
Nov 4, 3:46 PM CSTTornado WarningJANAttala29 min
Nov 4, 3:51 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANKemper39 min
Nov 4, 3:58 PM CSTTornado WarningJANSmith47 min
Nov 4, 4:10 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANLawrence35 min
Nov 4, 4:30 PM CSTTornado WarningJANKemper30 min
Nov 4, 4:31 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANJefferson Davis29 min
Nov 4, 4:31 PM CSTTornado WarningJANRankin29 min
Nov 4, 4:43 PM CSTTornado WarningJANCovington, Jefferson Davis47 min
Nov 4, 5:00 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANSimpson35 min
Nov 4, 5:05 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANHinds, Rankin30 min
Nov 4, 5:41 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANClarke34 min
Nov 4, 5:48 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANJones, Wayne27 min
Nov 4, 5:59 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANJones46 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.