Alert archive / Mississippi / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 129, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 2, 1997, 12:56 PM CDT for Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. It was in force for 49 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, 12:56 PM CDT (17:56 UTC)
- Expired
- May 2, 1997, 1:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 49 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
County Tallahatchie County, MS
The radar
The Memphis radar (KNQA), 157 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:57 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 1:30 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Charleston, MS | Some power lines were blown down. |
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
Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 5.9 hours before the alert went out and 100 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
- 496 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -404 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 733 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 534 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 701 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KMEM 021758 RRA SVRMEM MSC135-021845- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 1256 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS TN HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 145 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTHWESTERN MISSISSIPPI ...TALLAHATCHIE COUNTY AT 1254 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CHARLESTON MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH. THE STORM WILL PASS OVER CHARLESTON BY 105...AND THEN AFFECT OAKLAND BY 120 PM. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM. .A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. REMEMBER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.
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 2, 11:20 AM CDT, 1 hour 36 minutes before
MOZ113-115-TNZ001>102-022200- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR TENNESSEE AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 1120 AM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997 ...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE ACROSS THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL AND MUCH OF TENNESSEE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... A SIGNIFICANT OUTBREAK OF SEVERE WEATHER IS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL AND MUCH OF TENNESSEE. LARGE HAIL..DAMAGING WINDS AND A FEW TORNADOES ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS SYSTEM. THE AREA OF GREATEST CONCERN WILL BE DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE WEST HALF OF TENNESSEE..INCLUDING AREAS SUCH AS NASHVILLE.. MEMPHIS..JACKSON AND DYERSBURG. THE STORMS WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS THE STATE OVERNIGHT. LOW PRESSURE WAS FORMING OVER MISSOURI THIS MORNING..AND WILL TRACK ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY INTO THE LOWER GREAT LAKES OVERNIGHT. AN ASSSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO WEST TENNESSEE THIS EVENING AND AND MOVE ACROSS TENNESSEE OVERNIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT IN ARKANSAS THIS AFTERNOON..MOVING INTO WEST TENNESSEE BY EVENING..THEN EASTWARD ACROSS THE STATE OVERNIGHT. SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE REQUIRED ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL AND TENNESSEE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THIS IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. PERSONS ACROSS THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL AND TENNESSEE SHOULD REVIEW SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY RULES AND LISTEN TO RADIO..TV..OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WATCHES AND WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, May 2, 11:30 AM CDT, 1 hour 26 minutes before
MOZ113-115-TNZ001>102-022200- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR TENNESSEE AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 1120 AM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997 ...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE ACROSS THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL AND MUCH OF TENNESSEE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... A SIGNIFICANT OUTBREAK OF SEVERE WEATHER IS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL AND MUCH OF TENNESSEE. LARGE HAIL..DAMAGING WINDS AND A FEW TORNADOES ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS SYSTEM. THE AREA OF GREATEST CONCERN WILL BE DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE WEST HALF OF TENNESSEE..INCLUDING AREAS SUCH AS NASHVILLE.. MEMPHIS..JACKSON AND DYERSBURG. THE STORMS WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS THE STATE OVERNIGHT. LOW PRESSURE WAS FORMING OVER MISSOURI THIS MORNING..AND WILL TRACK ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY INTO THE LOWER GREAT LAKES OVERNIGHT. AN ASSSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO WEST TENNESSEE THIS EVENING AND AND MOVE ACROSS TENNESSEE OVERNIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT IN ARKANSAS THIS AFTERNOON..MOVING INTO WEST TENNESSEE BY EVENING..THEN EASTWARD ACROSS THE STATE OVERNIGHT. SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE REQUIRED ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL AND TENNESSEE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THIS IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. PERSONS ACROSS THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL AND TENNESSEE SHOULD REVIEW SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY RULES AND LISTEN TO RADIO..TV..OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WATCHES AND WARNINGS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 11:50 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Tallahatchie | 35 min |
| May 2, 12:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Panola | 44 min |
| May 2, 12:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Marshall | 48 min |
| May 2, 3:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Prentiss | 49 min |
| May 2, 3:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Itawamba, Lee | 33 min |
| May 2, 3:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Tishomingo | 33 min |
| May 2, 3:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Clay | 35 min |
| May 2, 3:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Monroe | 50 min |
| May 2, 3:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Itawamba | 35 min |
| May 2, 5:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Calhoun | 34 min |
| May 2, 5:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Chickasaw, Clay | 48 min |
| May 2, 6:04 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Chickasaw, Clay | 31 min |
| May 2, 6:20 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Monroe | 30 min |
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.