Alert archive / Mississippi / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 149, NWS New Orleans, LA

May 21, 1997Pike County, Walthall County, Mississippi

NWS New Orleans, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 21, 1997, 1:06 PM CDT for Pike County, Walthall County, Mississippi. It was in force for 69 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 21, 1997, 1:06 PM CDT (18:06 UTC)
Expired
May 21, 1997, 2:15 PM CDT
In force
69 min
Issued by
NWS New Orleans, LA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Pike County, MS, Walthall County, MS

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 21, 1:08 PM CDTThunderstorm WindSummit, MSCivil Defense director reported several trees were downed by wind gusts.

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, 6.1 hours before the alert went out and 114 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 1997-05-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1274 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 1997-05-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 52 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1274 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
640 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
52 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
94 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
2.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KNEW 211808
SVRNEW
MSC113-147-211915-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
106 PM CDT WED MAY 21 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW ORLEANS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  215 PM CDT
FOR RESIDENTS IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH MISSISSIPPI
 
   ...PIKE COUNTY...WALTHALL COUNTY
 
AT 105 PM CDT RADAR SHOWED A LARGE CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS NEAR MCCOMB
MOVING SOUTHEAST ABOUT 15 MPH. THESE THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE THROUGH
THE TOWNS OF MCCOMB AND TYLERTOWN DURING THE NEXT HOUR.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH YOU SHOULD
PREPARE FOR DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...LARGE HAIL...AND
DEADLY LIGHTNING.  PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A SHELTER...
PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

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 21, 11:29 AM CDT, 1 hour 37 minutes before
LAZ034>040-046>049-056>070-MSZ068>071-080>082-220100-

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS/BATON ROUGE LA
1115 AM CDT WED MAY 21 1997

...HEAVY RAIN LIKELY IN SCATTERED LOCATIONS ACROSS SOUTHEAST...EAST
CENTRAL LOUISIANA...AND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI MAINLY THIS AFTERNOON AND
THURSDAY...

THE ATMOSPHERE OVER THE REGION REMAINS UNSTABLE. A COMBINATION OF
AFTERNOON HEATING AND A STATIONARY FRONT...EXTENDING FROM NORTH OF LAKE
CHARLES TO NEAR MCCOMB MISSISSIPPI AND CONTINUING EAST...WILL PROVIDE A
GOOD CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS.

THE MAIN THREAT OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE HEAVY RAIN AND LOCALIZED
FLOODING. LIGHT WINDS IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE WILL ALSO MAKE THESE
THUNDERSTORMS SLOW MOVERS. THE FRONT WILL MOVE VERY SLOWLY SOUTH
THROUGH TOMORROW WITH LITTLE CHANGE IN THE WEATHER PATTERN.  HEAVY RAIN
HAS FALLEN OVER PARTS OF THE REGION OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS MAKING
THE GROUND NEARLY SATUATED.  ANY HEAVY RAINFALL OVER THESE AREAS WILL
POSE A LOCAL FLOODING THREAT.

PEOPLE ARE URGED TO MONITOR THIS WEATHER PATTERN CLOSELY BY LISTENING
TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...TELEVISION AND RADIO STATIONS THROUGHOUT THE
DAY.

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.