Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Memphis, TN

March 1, 1997Yalobusha County, Mississippi

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Mar 1, 1997, 2:20 AM CST for Yalobusha County, Mississippi. It was in force for 35 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 1, 1997, 2:20 AM CST (08:20 UTC)
Expired
Mar 1, 1997, 2:55 AM CST
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Whole counties

County Yalobusha County, MS

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 92 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 1997-03-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 1997-03-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 285 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
3 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-249 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
490 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
285 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
344 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMEM 010820 RRA
TORMEM
MSC161-010855-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
220 AM CST SAT MAR 1 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS TN HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 255 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTHWESTERN MISSISSIPPI

   ...EASTERN YALOBUSHA COUNTY
 
AT 218 AM CST...A DEVELOPING TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY DOPPLER
WEATHER RADAR 14 MILES SOUTH OF WATER VALLEY OR 8 MILES SOUTH OF
VELMA MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL PASS EAST OF WATER VALLEY BY 2:40 AM.

IF 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.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 1, 12:41 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCalhoun, Pontotoc49 min
Mar 1, 12:44 AM CSTTornado WarningMEGCalhoun, Pontotoc51 min
Mar 1, 1:09 AM CSTTornado WarningMEGLee, Union31 min
Mar 1, 2:08 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGYalobusha32 min
Mar 1, 2:33 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGTishomingo32 min
Mar 1, 2:35 AM CSTTornado WarningMEGCalhoun35 min
Mar 1, 2:41 AM CSTTornado WarningMEGTishomingo19 min
Mar 1, 2:49 AM CSTTornado WarningMEGLafayette31 min
Mar 1, 3:04 AM CSTTornado WarningMEGPontotoc, Union51 min
Mar 1, 5:28 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGTippah32 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.