Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 23, NWS Memphis, TN

September 16, 1996Itawamba County, Mississippi

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Sep 16, 1996, 5:16 AM CDT for Itawamba County, Mississippi. It was in force for 34 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, 1996, 5:16 AM CDT (10:16 UTC)
Expired
Sep 16, 1996, 5:50 AM CDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Whole counties

County Itawamba County, MS

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Sep 16, 5:26 AM CDTThunderstorm WindMantachie, 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, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 158 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 1996-09-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 558 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 1996-09-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 270 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
558 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
610 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
270 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
415 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
5.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMEM 161020
TORMEM
MSC057-161050-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
516 AM CDT MON SEP 16 1996

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS TN HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 550 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTHEASTERN MISSISSIPPI

   ...ITAWAMBA COUNTY
 
AT 515 AM CDT...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY DOPPLER WEATHER
RADAR AND SPOTTER REPORTS 9 MILES WEST OF FULTON OR 9 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF MANTACHIE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH. THIS STORM MAY
HAVE PRODUCED A TORNADO NEAR VERONA IN LEE COUNTY.

THIS TORNADO WILL PASS NEAR MANTACHIE BY 535 AM CDT AND FULTON BY
540 AM CDT.

.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 SAFETY IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A
CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...OR CUSHIONS TO
COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDXOWS.
 

&

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, 5:04 AM CDT, 12 minutes before
TNZ001>102-170000-

TENNESSEE SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
500 AM CDT MON SEP 16 1996

...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE OVER TENNESSEE TODAY..ESPECIALLY OVER THE
WEST AND MIDDLE...

A LOW PRESSURE CENTERED IN WESTERN ARKANSAS THIS MORNING WILL BE
MOVING INTO KENTUCKY BY THIS MONDAY EVENING. ITS ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT
IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN MAKING ENTRANCE INTO WEST TENNESSEE DURING THE
COURSE OF THIS AFTERNOON..AND THEN REACHING THE PLATEAU BY MIDNIGHT.

MOISTURE HAS ALREADY INCREASED..AND THE STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS IN
ADVANCE OF THE FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE A STEADY FEED OF
GULF MOISTURE. THE ATMOSPHERE IN ADVANCE OF THE FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO
BECOME MORE UNSTABLE AS TEMPERATURES WARM DURING THE DAY.

YOU ARE URGED TO REMAIN AWARE OF THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION
REGARDING THIS SITUATION BY MONITORING NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR
COMMERCIAL RADIO AND TELEVISION.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 16, 2:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGItawamba, Monroe34 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.