Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 81, NWS Jackson, MS

December 30, 1990Scott County, Smith County, Mississippi

NWS Jackson, MS issued this tornado warning at Dec 30, 1990, 3:37 PM CST for Scott County, Smith County, Mississippi. It was in force for 38 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Dec 30, 1990, 3:37 PM CST (21:37 UTC)
Expired
Dec 30, 1990, 4:15 PM CST
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS Jackson, MS
Area
Whole counties

Counties Scott County, MS, Smith 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 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 54 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 12:00Z on 1990-12-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 335 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Jackson, MS at 12:00Z on 1990-12-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 235 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
335 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
618 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
235 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
296 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
2.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KJAN 302139
TORJAN
MSC123-129-302215-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
337 PM CST SUN DEC 30 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  415 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI
 
   ...SCOTT COUNTY...NORTHERN SMITH COUNTY
 
AT 335PM AN INTENSIFYING THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS
DETECTED ABOUT 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF RALEIGH MOVING NORTHEAST AT
45 MILES AN HOUR. THIS STORM COULD AFFECT THE TOWNS OF LAKE AND
FOREST DURING THE NEXT 30 MINUTES.
 
 
DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO.  IF YOU ARE IN THE
PATH OF A TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO AO STRONG BUILDING.  IF
NO STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.
<

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, Dec 30, 12:06 PM CST, 3 hours 31 minutes before
MSZALL-302300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
1205 PM CST SUN DEC 30 1990

...STRONG GUSTY WINDS OCCURRING ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI...

AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT HAS ENTERED NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI. A TELEVISION
WEATHER BROADCASTER IN GREENVILLE REPORTED A TEMPERATURE DROP OF 25
DEGREES...FROM 70 TO 45...BETWEEN 11 AND 1130 AM.

OUT AHEAD OF THE FRONT...SOUTHERLY WINDS WERE BECOMING RATHER GUSTY.
WIND GUSTS BETWEEN 30 AND 35 MPH HAVE BEEN OBSERVED AT GREENWOOD
AND IN JACKSON. THESE WINDS ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THUNDERSTORMS BUT
ARE BEING CAUSED BY THE STRONG COLD FRONT IN NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI.
THE WINDS MAY BE BRIEFLY STRONG ENOUGH TO DOWN A FEW TREE LIMBS.

ONCE THE FRONT PASSES YOUR AREA...THE WINDS SHIFT AROUND TO NORTH BUT
ARE NOT AS GUSTY...GENERALLY BETWEEN 10 AND 20 MPH. THE FRONT SHOULD
ARRIVE IN GREENWOOD BY 2 PM..AND IN THE JACKSON AREA AROUND SUNSET.
Special weather statement, Dec 30, 1:04 PM CST, 2 hours 33 minutes before
MSZ003-006>011-302000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
100 PM CST SUN DEC 30 1990

THUNDERSTORMS INCREASING IN INTENSITY ACROSS CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI.

AT 1 PM CST...A BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE FORMED OUT AHEAD
OF THE ARCTIC FRONT WHICH WAS IN NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI.

THE STRNOGEST STORMS WERE OCCURRING SOUTH OF GREENWOOD FROM
LEXINGTON TO YAZOO CITY...AND IN NORTHEAST LOUISIANA ABOUT 20 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF VICKSBURG. THE STORMS WERE MOVING RAPIDLY NORTHEAST.
THE STORMS WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS.
SOME GUST COULD BE AS HIGH AS 45 MILES AN HOUR.

THE AIRMASS ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI AS BECOME RATHER
UNSTABLE DURING THE COURSE OF THE DAY. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A FEW OF THESE
STORMS COULD BECOME BRIEFLY SEVERE. PERSONS ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTH
MISSISSIPPI NEED TO STAY TUNED TO THEIR LOCAL TV..RADIO..OR NOAA
WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.
Special weather statement, Dec 30, 3:37 PM CST, 0 minutes before
MSZALL-310000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
330 PM CST SUN DEC 30 1990

...MUCH COLDER AIR MOVING INTO MISSISSIPPI...

AT 300 PM A STRONG ARCTIC COLD FRONT EXTENDED ACROSS MISSISSIPPI NEAR A
COLUMBUS TO MCCOMB LINE. THE FRONT WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT 15 TO 20
MPH...AND SHOULD MOVE WELL CLEAR OF THE STATE BEFORE MIDNIGHT.

STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THE FRONT AS IT MOVES ACROSS THE REST
OF THE STATE...AND TEMPERATURES DROP SHARPLY AFTER THE FRONT PASSES.
AT 300 PM TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE 70 TO 75 DEGREE RANGE AHEAD OF THE
FRONT...AND MOSTLY IN THE 40S BEHIND THE FRONT. READINGS IN THE DELTA
WERE GENERALLY IN THE 30S.

AS TEMPERATURES CONTINUE TO FALL TONIGHT...THE LIGHT RAIN WILL LIKELY
CHANGE TO LIGHT FREEZING RAIN OR SLEET OVER MUCH OF NORTH AND CENTRAL
MISSISSIPPI...GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF A VICKSBURG  MERIDIAN LINE.
AT THIS TIME...THE FREEZING AND FROZEN PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO BE
LIGHT...BUT COULD CAUSE DANGEROUS ICING ON BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES BEFORE
ENDING LATE TONIGHT.

IF YOU LIVE IN NORTH OR CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI...OR PLAN TO TRAVEL IN
THOSE AREAS YOU SHOULD KEEP INFORMED OF THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER
DEVELOPMENTS.M

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 30, 2:17 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANHinds43 min
Dec 30, 2:17 PM CSTTornado WarningJANMadison43 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes in 1990

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.