Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 30, NWS Jackson, MS
NWS Jackson, MS issued this tornado warning at May 2, 1997, 4:18 PM CDT for Leflore 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, 4:18 PM CDT (21:18 UTC)
- Expired
- May 2, 1997, 5:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 42 min
- Issued by
- NWS Jackson, MS
- Area
- Whole counties
County Leflore County, MS
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 4:40 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Greenwood, MS | Numerous trees were blown down and some buildings were damaged. |
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, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 138 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
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KJAN 022120 RRA TORJAN MSC083-022200- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 418 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 500 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTH CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI ...LEFLORE COUNTY AT 416 PM DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO 3 MILES SOUTH OF ITTA BENA. THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH...AND WILL MOVE INTO THE CITY OF GREENWOOD BY 440 PM. THIS STORM MAY ALSO PRODUCE HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. MOVE QUICKLY TO UNDERGROUND SHELTER IF AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE...GO TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. AVOID WINDOWS. LEAVE CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A STURDY BUILDING. < 69
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, 3:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Oktibbeha | 42 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, 4:34 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 |
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.