Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 40, NWS Jackson, MS
NWS Jackson, MS issued this tornado warning at May 2, 1997, 6:11 PM CDT for Holmes County, Mississippi. It was in force for 64 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, 6:11 PM CDT (23:11 UTC)
- Expired
- May 2, 1997, 7:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 64 min
- Issued by
- NWS Jackson, MS
- Area
- Whole counties
County Holmes County, MS
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 6:30 PM CDT | Tornado F3 | Tchula, MS | This tornado initially touched down 1 mile south of Tchula and moved northeast to 2 miles east southeast of Emory. The path width and strength varied along the path, but at its widest point was 200 yards. The worst damage occurred at a school 2 miles east of T |
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, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 89 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.
495 WFUS1 KJAN 022312 RRA TORJAN MSC051-030015- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 611 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 715 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI ...HOLMES COUNTY AT 609 PM DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO ABOUT 3 MILES WEST OF THORNTON. THIS STORM WAS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH AND WILL MOVE NEAR THE TOWNS OF THORNTON...TCHULA AND LEXINGTON THROUGH 650 PM. 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, 4:18 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, 6:29 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.