Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 10, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at May 22, 1988, 5:05 PM CDT for Alcorn County, Tippah County, Mississippi. It was in force for 25 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
- May 22, 1988, 5:05 PM CDT (22:05 UTC)
- Expired
- May 22, 1988, 5:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 25 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Alcorn County, MS, Tippah 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 5:15 PM CDT | Hail 2.5 | Tippah, 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
Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 110 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 3569 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -36 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 213 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
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 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, May 22, 3:11 PM CDT, 1 hour 54 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUPELO MS 310 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 159 IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF NORTH MISSISSIPPI... AT 300 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED SCATTERED SHOWERS WITH EMBEDDED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI. THE STRONGEST ACTIVITY WAS 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WATER VALLEY IN YALOBUSHA COUNTY AND 8 MILES SOUTHEAST OF GRENADA IN GRENADA COUNTY OF NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. WITH THE PASSAGE OF THESE STORMS STRONG GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...HEAVY RAINS AND POSSIBLE LARGE HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED. PEOPLE IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI NEED TO BE WEATHER ALERT AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION WHEN THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
Special weather statement, May 22, 4:06 PM CDT, 59 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUPELO MS 405 PM CDT SUN MAY 22 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 159 IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF NORTH MISSISSIPPI... AT 400 PM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED SCATTERED SHOWERS WITH EMBEDDED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI. THE STRONGEST ACTIVITY WAS 10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF OXFORD IN LAFAYETTE COUNTY AND 7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF NEW ALBANEY IN UNION COUNTY OF NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR. WITH THE PASSAGE OF THESE STORMS STRONG GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...HEAVY RAINS AND POSSIBLE LARGE HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED. PEOPLE IN NORTHEAST M6ISSISSIPPI NEED TO BE WEATHER ALERT AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION WHEN THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 4:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Tippah, Union | 31 min |
| May 22, 4:42 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | DeSoto | 48 min |
| May 22, 5:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Shelby, Tipton | 51 min |
| May 22, 5:29 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Shelby, Tipton | 61 min |
| May 22, 5:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Lauderdale | 53 min |
| May 22, 5:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | McNairy | 47 min |
| May 22, 6:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | McNairy | 28 min |
| May 22, 6:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | McNairy | 31 min |
| May 22, 3:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Cross | 51 min |
| May 22, 3:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Poinsett | 50 min |
| May 22, 4:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Craighead | 55 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.