Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 16, NWS Mobile, AL
NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Sep 16, 1988, 7:30 PM CDT for Hancock County, Mississippi. It was in force for 15 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
- Sep 16, 1988, 7:30 PM CDT (00:30 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 16, 1988, 7:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 15 min
- Issued by
- NWS Mobile, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Hancock 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 16, 7:40 PM CDT | Tornado F1 | Hancock, 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 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 222 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
- 1097 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 645 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 7 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -10 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 33 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 KMOB 170031
TORMOB
MSC045-170030-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
730 PM CDT FRI SEP 16 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 745 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI...
...HANCOCK...
AT 728 PM CDT THE BAY-WAVELAND CD REPORTED A LARGE WATERSPOUT JUST
SOUTH OF CLERMONT HARBOR MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST. IT IS EXPECTED
TO MOVE ONSHORE JUST EAST OF CLERMONT HARBOR NEAR WAVELAND.
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, Sep 16, 5:52 PM CDT, 1 hour 38 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 555 PM CDT FRI SEP 16 1988 ...VERY HEAVY RAINFALL OVER MOBILE COUNTY...SEVERAL REPORTS OF FUNNEL CLOUDS RECEIVED... A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH INTENSE RAINFALL ARE MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH ACROSS MOBILE COUNTY AT THIS HOUR. RADAR SHOWS SHOWERS DEVELOPING AND MOVING NORTHWARD INTO THE MISSISSIPPI COASTAL COUNTIES. SEVERAL REPORTS OF FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED FROM THE PUBLIC AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL IN MOBILE COUNTY. A THUNDERSTORM WITH TORRENTIAL RAINFALL WAS LOCATED OVER NORTH MOBILE AT 545 PM. LOW...SCUD CLOUDS HAVE BEEN OBSERVED BRUSHING THE TOPS OF THE TREES TO THE EAST AND NORTHEAST OF THE AIRPORT...BUT NO ROTATION IN THE CLOUDS WAS OBSERVED. THE HEAVY RAINFALL IS BECOMING A CONCERN. OVER THREE AND A HALF INCHES OF RAIN HAS OCCURRED AT THE AIRPORT TODAY AND ANY ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL COULD POSE FLOODING PROBLEMS. STREETS AND ROADS IN THE AREA ARE ALREADY COVERED WITH WATER AND STREAMS ARE AT BANKFULL. ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL IS ANTICIPATED TONIGHT AND RESIDENTS... ESPECIALLY IN MOBILE COUNTY...SHOULD STAY ALERT TO THE POSSIBLITY OF FLASH FLOODING AND BE PREPARED TO ACT QUICKyLY IF FLOODING IS OBSERVED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Mobile, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 16, 7:05 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Harrison | 40 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.