Alert archive / Mississippi / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 39, NWS Jackson, MS

March 21, 1989Rankin County, Mississippi

NWS Jackson, MS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 21, 1989, 3:08 PM CST for Rankin County, Mississippi. It was in force for 27 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 21, 1989, 3:08 PM CST (21:08 UTC)
Expired
Mar 21, 1989, 3:35 PM CST
In force
27 min
Issued by
NWS Jackson, MS
Area
Whole counties

County Rankin 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

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 225 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 12:00Z on 1989-03-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1473 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 12:00Z on 1989-03-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 67 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1473 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
696 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
67 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
93 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
2.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KJAN 212109 RRA
SVRJAN
MSC121-212135-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
308 PM CST TUE MAR 21 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  335 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI
          ...RANKIN
 
AT 306 PM...A THUNDERSTORM LIKELY PRODUCING LARGE HAIL WAS LOCATED 5
MILES SOUTH OF FLORENCE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 60 MPH. THIS STORM IS
MOVING TOWARD PELAHATCHIE.
 
PEOPLE NEAR THE STORM SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING AWAY
FROM WINDOWS.  DON'T USE TELEPHONES OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNTIL
THE STORM HAS PASSED.  MOTORISTS DON'T DRIVE INTO WATER CROSSINGS.
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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 21, 10:38 AM CST, 4 hours 30 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
1030 AM CST TUE MAR 21 1989

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HEADING BACK INTO MISSISSIPPI FROM THE WEST...

AT 1030AM...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAD SPREAD INTO EAST TEXAS AND MUCH
OF CENTRAL AND NORTHERN LOUISIANA. LIGHT RAIN AND SHOWERS WERE RAPIDLY
REDEVELOPING OVER ABOUT THE SOUTHERN TWO THIRDS OF MISSISSIPPI AS
WELL AND WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY.

AS THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS MOVE ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER THIS
AFTERNOON MANY WILL LIKELY CONTAIN SOME HAIL...GUSTY WINDS AND VERY
HEAVY RAINFALL ALONG WITH DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES.

THE FIRST ROUND OF INCOMING THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD MAINLY AFFECT THE
GREENVILLE TO GREENWOOD TO YAZOO CITY AREAS DURING THE NEXT 2 HOURS.

STAY TUNED TO YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADIO AND LOCAL MEDIA
FOR LATER STATEMENTS AS THE DAY PROGRESSES.
Special weather statement, Mar 21, 1:15 PM CST, 1 hour 53 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
115 PM CST TUE MAR 21 1989

...EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS INCREASING OVER WEST MISSISSIPPI...

AT 115PM...A GROWING AREA OF RAIN AND EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WAS
SPREADING ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TWO THIRDS OF MISSISSIPPI. THE STRONGEST
THUNDERSTORMS WERE BUILDING NEAR THE COAST AND ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI
RIVER FROM GREENVILLE SOUTH TO NATCHEZ. ANY OF THESE STRONGER STORMS
WILL HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO PRODUCE SOME HAIL...GUSTY WINDS AND VERY
HEAVY RAINFALL ALONG WITH CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES.

THE MOST INTENSE THUNDERSTORM IN WEST MISSISSIPPI WAS IN WARREN COUNTY
ABOUT 15 MILES NORTHEAST OF VICKSBURG MOVING EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.

RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN
TWO THIRDS OF THE STATE INTO THE NIGHTTIME HOURS. RESIDENTS IN THESE
AREAS SHOULD STAY TUNED TO YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADIO AND
LOCAL MEDIA FOR LATER STATEMENTS AS THE DAY PROGRESSES.
Local storm report, Mar 21, 3:02 PM CST, 6 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
255 PM CST TUE MAR 21 1989

240 PM CST...BROOKHAVEN/LINCOLN CIVIL DEFENSE REPORTED PEA TO MARBLE
SIZE HAIL NEAR BROOKHAVEN.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 20, 10:15 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANBolivar29 min
Mar 20, 10:40 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANSunflower20 min
Mar 20, 10:50 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANWashington40 min
Mar 21, 2:18 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANRankin27 min
Mar 21, 2:14 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANWilkinson31 min
Mar 21, 2:49 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANCopiah, Simpson26 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Mississippi, 1989Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1989

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.