Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 7, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at May 9, 1988, 12:19 AM CDT for Phillips County, Arkansas; Tunica County, Mississippi. It was in force for 56 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
- May 9, 1988, 12:19 AM CDT (05:19 UTC)
- Expired
- May 9, 1988, 1:15 AM CDT
- In force
- 56 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Phillips County, AR, Tunica 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 9, 12:45 AM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Tunica, MS | |
| May 9, 1:00 AM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Phillips, AR |
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 00:00Z, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 69 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
- 3596 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 55 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 210 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 275 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KMEM 090520
TORMEM
ARC107-MSC143-090615-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1219 AM CDT MON MAY 9 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 115 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN EAST ARKANSAS
...NORTHEASTERN PHILLIPS
IN NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI
...TUNICA
AT 1215 AM CDT WEATHER RADAR DETECTED A POSSIBLE TORNADO ABOUT 10
MILES SOUTHWEST OF HELENA ARKANSAS MOVING TOWARD THE EASTNORTHEAST AT
35 TO 40 MPH. THE PRESENT TRACK OF THIS STORM WILL TAKE IT ACROSS THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER EAST OF HELENA AROUND 1230 AM CDT.
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.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 8, 7:08 PM CDT, 5 hours 11 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUPELO MS 705 PM CDT SUN MAY 9 1988 ..........VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI....... AT 700 PM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED SCATTERED VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI. THE STRONGEST ACTIVITY WAS NOTED WEST OF NEW ALBANEY IN UNION COUNTY. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST AT 50 MILES AN HOUR. WITH THE PASSAGE OF THESE STORMS STRONG GUSTY WINDS INEXCESS OF 50 MILES AN HOUR...HEAVY RAINS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED. PEOPLE IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI NEED TO BE WEATHER ALERT AND TAKE APPROIATE ACTION W HEN NECESSARY. ALSO TO STAY TUNE FOR ANY FURTHER WEATHER STATEMENTS.
Special weather statement, May 8, 8:47 PM CDT, 3 hours 32 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
845 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 1988
LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO NORTHEAST ARKANSAS
AT 840 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR DETECTED A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
MOVING INTO NORTHEAST ARKANSAS. THE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS AT THAT
TIME EXTENDED FROM NEAR POPLAR BLUFF MISSOURI TO NEAR BATESVILLE
ARKANSAS AND WAS MOVING TOWARD THE SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.
THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO CLAY AND GREENE COUNTIES OF
NORTHEAST ARKANSAS BY 10 PM CDT AND HAVE HAD A HISTORY OF PRODUCING
DESTRUCTIVE WEATHER AS THEY MOVED THROUGH CENTRAL ARKANSAS DURING THE
EVENING.
STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR LATER WEATHER BULLETINS...AND KEEP
POSTED ON LOCAL WEATHER DEVELOPMENTS THROUGH THE EVENING.Local storm report, May 8, 10:45 PM CDT, 1 hour 34 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUPELO MS
1040 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 1987
TIME REPORTED DAMAGE
____________________________________________________________
730 PM CDT TIPPAH COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
REPORTED MARBLE SIZE HAIL IN RIPLEY.
835 PM CDT TISHOMINGO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
REPORTED MARBLE SIZE HAIL NORTH OF
V IUKA.Special weather statement, May 8, 10:52 PM CDT, 1 hour 27 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1050 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 1988
AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO WEST TENNESSEE
AT 1040 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR DETECTED A 60 MILE WIDE AREA OF
THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO WEST TENNESSEE. THE AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS
AT THAT TIME EXTENDED FROM NEAR DYERSBURG SOUTHWESTWARD INTO SOUTH
CENTRAL ARKANSAS. THE STORMS WERE MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT
35 MPH.
THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS EXTREME WEST TENNESSEE AND
EASTERN ARKANSAS UNTIL AFTER MIDNIGHT. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY YET
PRODUCE SEVERE WEATHER WITH DAMAGING WINDS...HAIL...AND LIGHTNING.
STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR LATER WEATHER BULLETINS...AND KEEP
IPOSTED ON LOCAL WEATHER DEVELOPMENTS THROUGH THE EVENING.The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 8:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Clay | 37 min |
| May 8, 11:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Lee, Phillips | 57 min |
| May 8, 7:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Tippah | 40 min |
| May 8, 8:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Alcorn | 37 min |
| May 8, 8:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Tishomingo | 15 min |
| May 9, 12:37 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | DeSoto, Tate | 68 min |
| May 9, 1:25 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Lafayette | 60 min |
| May 9, 1:27 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Marshall | 48 min |
| May 9, 2:15 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Tippah | 45 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Arkansas, 1988Tornado 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.