Alert archive / Mississippi / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 9, NWS Mobile, AL

March 12, 1988Perry County, Mississippi

NWS Mobile, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 12, 1988, 6:31 PM CST for Perry County, Mississippi. It was in force for 23 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 12, 1988, 6:31 PM CST (00:31 UTC)
Expired
Mar 13, 1988, 5:15 PM CST
In force
23 hr
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Perry 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, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 164 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 1988-03-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 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 1988-03-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -92 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
2587 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-92 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
129 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMOB 130031
SVRMOB
MSC111-130115-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
631 PM CST SAT MAR 12 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  715 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI
          ...NORTHERN PERRY
 
AT 630 PM THE MOBILE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM JUST
NORTHEAST RUNNELSTOWN MISSISSIPPI MOVING TOWARD THE EAST AT 30 MPH.
 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA.  REMEMBER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.  REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEAlTHER CONDITIONS.

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 12, 2:47 PM CST, 3 hours 44 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENSACOLA FL
235 PM CST SAT MAR 12 1988

...THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING INTO THE WEST PART OF NORTHWEST FLORIDA...

AT 230 PM CST...THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH VERY HEAVY RAINS...WERE OVER
THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE...SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...AND THE ADJOINING GULF TO
125 MILES OFFSHORE.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WITH THE HEAVIER RAINS WERE MOVING INTO WESTERN
ESCAMBIA COUNTY FLORIDA AND THE IMMEDIATE COASTAL WATERS...AND FROM
FREEPORT TO PORT ST JOE AND EXTENDED INLAND ACROSS BONIFAY AND TO THE
ALABAMA BORDER.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE PERIODS OF VERY HEAVY RAIN.5..GUSTY
WIND AROUND 45 MILES AN HOUR...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND POSSIBLE SMALL
HAIL.
PERSONS SHOULD TAKE ANY NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS FOR THESE CONDITIONS.
Special weather statement, Mar 12, 3:36 PM CST, 2 hours 55 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
335 PM CST SAT MAR 12 1988

...TORNADO WATCH NOW IN EFFECT FOR SEVERAL INLAND COUNTIES IN SOUTHEAST
MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA UNTIL 900 PM...

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 18 HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR SEVERAL COUNTIES IN
SOUTHWEST ALABAMA AND SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI UNTIL 900 PM THIS EVENING.
INCLUDED IN MISSISSIPPI ARE: PEARL-RIVER...FORREST...LAMAR...PERRY AND
GREENE.  IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...CLARKE AND WASHINGTON ARE THE COUNTIES
INCLUDED IN THE WATCH.

WEATHER SERVICE RADARS INDICATED AT 330 PM THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS
WERE STILL NORTHWEST OF HATTIESBURG MISSISSIPPI BUT WERE MOVING TOWARD
THE EAST RAPIDLY.

RESIDENTS IN THESE COUN}TIES IN SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI AND SOUTHWEST
ALABAMA SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER.
Special weather statement, Mar 12, 3:36 PM CST, 2 hours 55 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENSACOLA FL
335 PM CST SAT MAR 12 1988

AT 330 PM CST...THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH VERY HEAVY RAINS...WERE OVER
THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE...SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...AND THE ADJOINING GULF TO
125 MILES OFFSHORE.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WITH THE HEAVIER RAINS WERE ALONG THE COAST AND
IMMEDIATE COASTAL WATERS BETWEEN MOBILE BAY AND FORT WALTON...AND OVER
THE COASTAL WATERS SOUTHWEST OF APALACHICOLA.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE PERIODS OF VERY HEAVY RAIN WITH BRIEF
FLOODING OF POOR DRAINAGE AREAS...GUSTY WINDS WIND AROUND 45 MILES AN
HOUR...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AN{D POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL.
PERSONS SHOULD TAKE ANY NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS FOR THESE CONDITIONS.
Special weather statement, Mar 12, 5:40 PM CST, 51 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
540 PM CST SAT MAR 12 1988

...TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST
MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA UNTIL 900 PM...

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 18 HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR SEVERAL COUNTIES IN
SOUTHWEST ALABAMA AND SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI UNTIL 900 PM THIS EVENING.
INCLUDED IN MISSISSIPPI ARE: PEARL-RIVER...FORREST...LAMAR...PERRY AND
GREENE.  IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...CLARKE AND WASHINGTON ARE THE COUNTIES
INCLUDED IN THE WATCH.

WEATHER SERVICE RADARS INDICATED AT 530 PM A LINE OF INTENSE
THUNDERSTORMS FROM WEST OF DEMOPOLIS ALABAMA SOUTHWEST TO JUST EAST OF
LAUREL MISSISSIPPI.  THE LINE WAS MOVING TOWARD THE EAST AT 20 MPH
WHILE THE INDIVIDUAL THUNDERSTORMS WERE RACING NORTHEAST ABOUT 50 MPH.
THE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE A HISTORY OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE
HAIL.
IF THE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE THEIR PRESENT MOVEMENT AND INTENSITY
...WARNINGS ARE LIKELY FOR NORTHERN WASHINGTON AND CLARKE COUNTIES
IN ALABAMA DURING THE NEXT COUPLE HOUR.

RESIDENTS IN THESE COUNTIES SHOULD STAY ALERT FOR THE POSSIBILITY
OF SEVERE WEATHER.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 12, 7:17 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBGreene43 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Mississippi, 1988Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.