Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Jackson, MS

January 15, 1997Forrest County, Lamar County, Mississippi

NWS Jackson, MS issued this tornado warning at Jan 15, 1997, 4:49 PM CST for Forrest County, Lamar County, Mississippi. It was in force for 41 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
Jan 15, 1997, 4:49 PM CST (22:49 UTC)
Expired
Jan 15, 1997, 5:30 PM CST
In force
41 min
Issued by
NWS Jackson, MS
Area
Whole counties

Counties Forrest County, MS, Lamar County, MS

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 123 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:51 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jan 15, 4:49 PM CSTTornado F1Sumrall, 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

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 110 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 1997-01-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 1997-01-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 325 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
518 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
325 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
288 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KJAN 152251 RRA
TORJAN
MSC035-073-152330-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
449 PM CST WED JAN 15 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  530 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI
 
   ...NORTHERN FORREST COUNTY...NORTHERN LAMAR COUNTY
 
AT 449 PM RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 5 MILES SOUTH OF SUMRALL
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. THE STORM WILL PASS BETWEEN
EASTABUTCHIE AND HATTIESBURG BY 510 PM.
 
SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME
OR APARTMENT.  AVOID WINDOWS AND PROTECT YOUR HEAD FROM FLYING
DEBRIS WITH CUSHIONS OR PILLOWS.
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 15, 2:02 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANRankin28 min
Jan 15, 4:35 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANMarion25 min
Jan 15, 4:59 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANJones46 min
Jan 15, 5:07 PM CSTTornado WarningJANJones53 min
Jan 15, 5:25 PM CSTTornado WarningJANForrest50 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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.