Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Jackson, MS

February 28, 1997Hinds County, Madison County, Mississippi

NWS Jackson, MS issued this tornado warning at Feb 28, 1997, 4:20 PM CST for Hinds County, Madison County, Mississippi. It was in force for 40 min. 3 reports 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: Feb 28, 1997, 4:20 PM CST (22:20 UTC)
Expired: Feb 28, 1997, 5:00 PM CST
In force: 40 min
Issued by: NWS Jackson, MS
Area: Whole counties

Counties Hinds County, MS, Madison County, MS

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Feb 28, 4:30 PM CST	Tornado F0	Brownsville, MS	This weak tornado blew down a couple of trees.
Feb 28, 4:40 PM CST	Tornado F0	Flora, MS
Feb 28, 4:55 PM CST	Tornado F0	Flora, 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Feb 28, 3:00 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 21 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 146 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -122 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 496 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 62 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 236 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 236 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

198 
WFUS1 KJAN 282222 RRA
TORJAN
MSC049-089-282300-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
420 PM CST FRI FEB 28 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  500 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI
 
   ...NORTHERN HINDS COUNTY...MADISON COUNTY
 
AT 420 PM RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 3 MILES WEST OF BOLTON
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH. THIS MOTION WILL TAKE THE STORM NEAR
POCAHONTAS BY 440 PM AND JUST EAST OF FLORA BY 450 PM.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS IN AN
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  GET UNDER STURDY FURNITURE.
USE PILLOWS OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR HEAD.
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The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 28, 2:33 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Jefferson	27 min
Feb 28, 2:53 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Claiborne	37 min
Feb 28, 3:25 PM CST	Tornado Warning	JAN	Claiborne	35 min
Feb 28, 3:39 PM CST	Tornado Warning	JAN	Hinds, Warren	51 min
Feb 28, 4:22 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Sunflower	38 min
Feb 28, 4:40 PM CST	Tornado Warning	JAN	Yazoo	65 min
Feb 28, 5:25 PM CST	Tornado Warning	JAN	Attala, Holmes	35 min

Nearby

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