Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Memphis, TN

April 15, 1996Monroe County, Mississippi

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Apr 15, 1996, 12:10 AM CDT for Monroe County, Mississippi. It was in force for 35 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
Apr 15, 1996, 12:10 AM CDT (05:10 UTC)
Expired
Apr 15, 1996, 12:45 AM CDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Whole counties

County Monroe County, MS

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 15, 12:10 AM CDTHail 0.75Smithville, 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 5.2 hours before the alert went out and 171 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 1996-04-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1702 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 1996-04-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 133 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1702 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
684 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
68 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
133 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
154 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.3
Supercell composite
5.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMEM 150511
TORMEM
MSC095-150545-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1210 AM CDT MON APR 15 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1245 AM CDT
FOR PERSONS IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI
 
   ...MONROE COUNTY
 
PEOPLE IN THE TOWN OF AMORY NEED TO SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
 
AT 1208 AM..NATIONAL WEATHER DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO
ALONG HIGHWAY 6 SOUTH OF NETTLETON. THIS STORM IS MOVING EAST AT 40
MILES AN HOUR AND WILL AFFECT AMORY BY 1230 AM.
 
MONROE COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED A POSSIBLE TOUCH DOWN IN THIS AREA AT
AROUND 1205 AM.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
 
 
 
&

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, Apr 14, 6:20 PM CDT, 5 hours 50 minutes before
TNZ001>004-019>022-048>055-088>092-150015-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
613 PM CDT SUN APR 14 1996

...TORNADO WATCH CANCELLED FOR WEST TENNESSEE...

THE TORNADO WATCH THAT HAD BEEN IN EFFECT FOR WEST TENNESSEE UNTIL 8
PM CDT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THE THUNDERSTORMS THAT PROMPTED THE WATCH
REMAINED OVER MISSISSIPPI AND WILL NOT POSE A THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER
THROUGH 8 PM.

HOWEVER...A BAND OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES OVER NORTH CENTRAL
ARKANSAS...JUST AHEAD OF A STRONG COLD FRONT. A TORNADO WATCH IS IN
EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST ARKANSAS AND SOUTHERN MISSOURI UNTIL
1 AM CDT. THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY AFFECT
PORTIONS OF WEST TENNESSEE LATER THIS EVENING...AND ANOTHER WATCH MAY
NEED TO BE ISSUED.

STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 14, 10:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCalhoun43 min
Apr 14, 11:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGMonroe52 min
Apr 15, 12:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGChickasaw45 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes in 1996

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.