Alert archive / Mississippi / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 215, NWS Jackson, MS
NWS Jackson, MS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 2, 1997, 3:18 PM CDT for Oktibbeha County, Mississippi. It was in force for 42 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
- May 2, 1997, 3:18 PM CDT (20:18 UTC)
- Expired
- May 2, 1997, 4:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 42 min
- Issued by
- NWS Jackson, MS
- Area
- Whole counties
County Oktibbeha County, MS
The radar
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:18 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 3:25 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Starkville, MS | A couple of trees were blown down in Starkville. |
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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 12:15 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 7 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 166 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
- 750 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -166 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 543 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 39 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 256 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 345 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 4.1
The text
The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.
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, May 2, 10:13 AM CDT, 5 hours 5 minutes before
MSZ001>082-030400- MISSISSIPPI THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 1015 AM CDT FRI MAY 02 1997 SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY MOVING INTO NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE ASSOCIATED WITH A SURFACE COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE AREA AND TRIGGER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FOR THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. SEVERE WEATHER WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION IN THE FORM OF LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND POSSIBLE ISOLATED TORNADOES THROUGH TONIGHT. IT WILL LIKELY BECOME NECESSARY TO ACTIVATE STORM SPOTTERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS...AND PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY PERSONNEL FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
Special weather statement, May 2, 10:15 AM CDT, 5 hours 3 minutes before
MSZ001>082-030400- MISSISSIPPI THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 1015 AM CDT FRI MAY 02 1997 SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY MOVING INTO NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE ASSOCIATED WITH A SURFACE COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE AREA AND TRIGGER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FOR THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. SEVERE WEATHER WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION IN THE FORM OF LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND POSSIBLE ISOLATED TORNADOES THROUGH TONIGHT. IT WILL LIKELY BECOME NECESSARY TO ACTIVATE STORM SPOTTERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS...AND PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY PERSONNEL FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
Special weather statement, May 2, 3:00 PM CDT, 18 minutes before
MSZ001>082-030400- MISSISSIPPI THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 300 PM CDT FRI MAY 02 1997 THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING OVER PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN MISSISSIPPI...GENERALLY ALONG AND EAST OF A IUKA TO WINONA TO YAZOO CITY TO A LAUREL LINE. THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO THE WEST OF THAT LINE. A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS OVER THE EXTREME SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI COUNTIES. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT IN THE SOUTHERN PLAINS WILL COMBINE WITH STRONG SOUTHERLY FLOW TO CONTINUE THE THREAT OF WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER THROUGH TONIGHT. THE SEVERE WEATHER WILL TAKE THE FORM OF LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND TORNADOES. STORM SPOTTERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS AS WELL AS PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY PERSONNEL ARE URGED TO STAND BY FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
Special weather statement, May 2, 3:04 PM CDT, 14 minutes before
MSZ001>082-030400- MISSISSIPPI THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 300 PM CDT FRI MAY 02 1997 THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING OVER PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN MISSISSIPPI...GENERALLY ALONG AND EAST OF A IUKA TO WINONA TO YAZOO CITY TO A LAUREL LINE. THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO THE WEST OF THAT LINE. A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS OVER THE EXTREME SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI COUNTIES. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT IN THE SOUTHERN PLAINS WILL COMBINE WITH STRONG SOUTHERLY FLOW TO CONTINUE THE THREAT OF WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER THROUGH TONIGHT. THE SEVERE WEATHER WILL TAKE THE FORM OF LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND TORNADOES. STORM SPOTTERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS AS WELL AS PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY PERSONNEL ARE URGED TO STAND BY FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Jackson, MS issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 11:48 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Bolivar | 42 min |
| May 2, 12:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Sunflower | 39 min |
| May 2, 1:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Holmes | 54 min |
| May 2, 2:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Carroll | 55 min |
| May 2, 2:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Montgomery | 49 min |
| May 2, 2:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Webster | 47 min |
| May 2, 2:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Choctaw | 52 min |
| May 2, 3:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Sunflower | 33 min |
| May 2, 4:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Leflore | 57 min |
| May 2, 4:18 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Leflore | 42 min |
| May 2, 4:34 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Carroll, Grenada | 56 min |
| May 2, 4:53 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Montgomery | 52 min |
| May 2, 5:12 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Issaquena, Sharkey | 63 min |
| May 2, 5:19 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Washington | 41 min |
| May 2, 5:22 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Webster | 53 min |
| May 2, 5:55 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Humphreys | 65 min |
| May 2, 6:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Washington | 52 min |
| May 2, 6:11 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Holmes | 64 min |
| May 2, 6:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Issaquena, Sharkey | 46 min |
| May 2, 6:47 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Attala, Carroll, Montgomery | 58 min |
| May 2, 6:59 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Humphreys | 46 min |
| May 2, 4:09 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Morehouse | 66 min |
| May 2, 4:41 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | East Carroll, West Carroll | 49 min |
| May 2, 5:15 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Morehouse | 45 min |
| May 2, 5:28 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | East Carroll | 32 min |
| May 2, 5:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | West Carroll | 54 min |
| May 2, 4:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Ashley | 30 min |
| May 2, 6:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Ashley | 40 min |
| May 2, 6:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Chicot | 39 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Mississippi, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.