Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 15, NWS New Orleans, LA

October 25, 1997Pearl River County, Mississippi

NWS New Orleans, LA issued this tornado warning at Oct 25, 1997, 2:53 PM CDT for Pearl River County, Mississippi. It was in force for 37 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
Oct 25, 1997, 2:53 PM CDT (19:53 UTC)
Expired
Oct 25, 1997, 3:30 PM CDT
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS New Orleans, LA
Area
Whole counties

County Pearl River County, MS

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Oct 25, 3:00 PM CDTTornado F1Poplarville, MSThe Sheriff's Office reported one mobile home destroyed, two others damaged and the roof of a house 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 nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 59 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 1997-10-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2541 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 1997-10-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 174 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
2541 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
486 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
174 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
191 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.2
Supercell composite
12.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KNEW 251954 RRA
TORNEW
MSC109-252030-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
253 PM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW ORLEANS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  330 PM CDT
FOR RESIDENTS IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH MISSISSIPPI
 
   ...PEARL RIVER COUNTY
 
AT 255 PM CDT RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A
TORNADO ABOUT 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF POPLARVILLE MOVING TOWARDS THE
NORTHEAST ABOUT 30 MILES AN HOUR.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE
OF STURDY FURNITURE. SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A
CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS..
.OR CUSHIONS TO
COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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, Oct 25, 10:11 AM CDT, 4 hours 42 minutes before
LAZ034>040-046>049-056>070-MSZ068>071-080>082-261500-

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS/BATON ROUGE LA
1100 AM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OKLAHOMA IS FORECASTING AN
OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES ACROSS MOST OF THE LOWER
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT..

AN UPPER AIR TROUGH IS MOVING EASTWARD INTO TEXAS. STRONG LOW LEVEL
FLOW OFF THE GULF OF MEXICO IS BRING IN WARM MOIST UNSTABLE AIR INTO
THE REGION. A STRONG JET REMAINS IN PLACE OVER THE CENTRAL GULF COAST.
AS THE UPPER AIR TROUGH APPROACHES A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND PORTIONS OF
SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI AND THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST.

PERSONS IN THE THREATENED AREAS ARE URGED TO REVIEW SEVERE WEATHER
SAFETY RULES AND TUNE IN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL RADIO AND TV
STATIONS...CABLE OUTLETS...OR CONTACT OUT INTERNET HOMEPAGE AT
HTTP://WWW.SRH4.NOAA.GOV UNDER "FORECAST OFFICES" FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION ON CURRENT WEATHER CONDITIONS.

23
Special weather statement, Oct 25, 11:00 AM CDT, 3 hours 53 minutes before
LAZ034>040-046>049-056>070-MSZ068>071-080>082-261500-

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS/BATON ROUGE LA
1100 AM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OKLAHOMA IS FORECASTING AN
OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES ACROSS MOST OF THE LOWER
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT..

AN UPPER AIR TROUGH IS MOVING EASTWARD INTO TEXAS. STRONG LOW LEVEL
FLOW OFF THE GULF OF MEXICO IS BRING IN WARM MOIST UNSTABLE AIR INTO
THE REGION. A STRONG JET REMAINS IN PLACE OVER THE CENTRAL GULF COAST.
AS THE UPPER AIR TROUGH APPROACHES A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND PORTIONS OF
SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI AND THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST.

PERSONS IN THE THREATENED AREAS ARE URGED TO REVIEW SEVERE WEATHER
SAFETY RULES AND TUNE IN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL RADIO AND TV
STATIONS...CABLE OUTLETS...OR CONTACT OUT INTERNET HOMEPAGE AT
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV UNDER FORECAST OFFICES FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION ON CURRENT WEATHER CONDITIONS.

23

The office that day

Everything else NWS New Orleans, LA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 25, 3:34 PM CDTTornado WarningLIXHancock, Harrison56 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.