Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 25, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at May 2, 1997, 6:20 PM CDT for Monroe County, Mississippi. It was in force for 30 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, 6:20 PM CDT (23:20 UTC)
- Expired
- May 2, 1997, 6:50 PM CDT
- In force
- 30 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
County Monroe County, MS
The radar
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 14 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:21 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, 6:30 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Aberdeen, MS | A car was blown off the road. Several large tree limbs 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, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 171 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 022321 RRA TORMEM MSC095-022350- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 620 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS TN HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 650 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTHEASTERN MISSISSIPPI ...MONROE COUNTY AT 615 PM CDT...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS INDICATED ABOUT 5 MILES WEST OF THE MONROE COUNTY LINE. THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH..AND WILL PASS BETWEEN NEW WREN AND ABERDEEN BY 635 PM..AND JUST SOUTH OF AMORY BY 640 PM. F YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SAFETY 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
Local storm report, May 2, 6:06 PM CDT, 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TENNESSEE
606 PM CDT FRI MAY 02 1997
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0115 PM HELENA AR NON TSTM WIND
05/02/97 PHILLIPS *** 1 DEAD ***
LOCALIZED 60 PLUS MPH
NON-THUNDERSTORM WIND DAMAGE
IN HELENA AND WEST HELENA.
LARGE AWNING BLEW ON A
CAR...WITH ONE FATALITY.
THREE SCHOOLS DAMAGED.
NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER
LINES DOWN.
0300 PM BELMONT MS OTHER
05/02/97 TISHOMINGO FUNERAL HOME SET ON FIRE BY
LIGHTNING.
0300 PM BURNSVILLE MS OTHER
05/02/97 TISHOMINGO CHURCH SET ON FIRE BY
LIGHTNING. REPORTED BY
POLICE.
0308 PM TUPELO MS 0.75 INCH HAIL
05/02/97 LEE DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
EMA.
0340 PM PHEBA MS 0.88 INCH HAIL
05/02/97 CLAY DIME TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL.
REPORTED BY SPOTTER.
0340 PM MARIETTA MS WIND DAMAGE
05/02/97 PRENTISS TREES DOWN....SMALL HAIL.
REPORTED BY SPOTTER.
0340 PM BELMONT MS WIND DAMAGE
05/02/97 ITAWAMBA LARGE LIMBS DOWN OVER MOST
OF THE COUNTY. REPORTED BY
EMA
0340 PM AMORY MS WIND DAMAGE
05/02/97 MONROE LARGE LIMBS DOWN. REPORTED
BY AMORY PD.
0345 PM ABERDEEN MS WIND DAMAGE
05/02/97 MONROE NUMEROUS TREES DOWN.
REPORTED BY ABERDEEN PD.
0350 PM 3 NW MORO AR 1.00 INCH HAIL
05/02/97 LEE DIME TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL
REPORTED BY SPOTTER.
0400 PM FRIENDSHIP MS WIND DAMAGE
05/02/97 ITAWAMBA SEVERAL LARGE LIMBS
DOWN...FOUR INCHES IN
DIAMETER AND BIGGER.
REPORTED BY HAM.Local storm report, May 2, 6:09 PM CDT, 11 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TENNESSEE
606 PM CDT FRI MAY 02 1997
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0115 PM HELENA AR NON TSTM WIND
05/02/97 PHILLIPS *** 1 DEAD ***
LOCALIZED 60 PLUS MPH
NON-THUNDERSTORM WIND DAMAGE
IN HELENA AND WEST HELENA.
LARGE AWNING BLEW ON A
CAR...WITH ONE FATALITY.
THREE SCHOOLS DAMAGED.
NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER
LINES DOWN.
0300 PM BELMONT MS OTHER
05/02/97 TISHOMINGO FUNERAL HOME SET ON FIRE BY
LIGHTNING.
0300 PM BURNSVILLE MS OTHER
05/02/97 TISHOMINGO CHURCH SET ON FIRE BY
LIGHTNING. REPORTED BY
POLICE.
0308 PM TUPELO MS 0.75 INCH HAIL
05/02/97 LEE DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
EMA.
0340 PM PHEBA MS 0.88 INCH HAIL
05/02/97 CLAY DIME TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL.
REPORTED BY SPOTTER.
0340 PM MARIETTA MS WIND DAMAGE
05/02/97 PRENTISS TREES DOWN....SMALL HAIL.
REPORTED BY SPOTTER.
0340 PM BELMONT MS WIND DAMAGE
05/02/97 ITAWAMBA LARGE LIMBS DOWN OVER MOST
OF THE COUNTY. REPORTED BY
EMA
0340 PM AMORY MS WIND DAMAGE
05/02/97 MONROE LARGE LIMBS DOWN. REPORTED
BY AMORY PD.
0345 PM ABERDEEN MS WIND DAMAGE
05/02/97 MONROE NUMEROUS TREES DOWN.
REPORTED BY ABERDEEN PD.
0350 PM 3 NW MORO AR 1.00 INCH HAIL
05/02/97 LEE DIME TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL
REPORTED BY SPOTTER.
0400 PM FRIENDSHIP MS WIND DAMAGE
05/02/97 ITAWAMBA SEVERAL LARGE LIMBS
DOWN...FOUR INCHES IN
DIAMETER AND BIGGER.
REPORTED BY HAM.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, 12:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Tallahatchie | 49 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 |
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.