Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Memphis, TN

March 1, 1997Pontotoc County, Union County, Mississippi

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Mar 1, 1997, 3:04 AM CST for Pontotoc County, Union County, Mississippi. It was in force for 51 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: Mar 1, 1997, 3:04 AM CST (09:04 UTC)
Expired: Mar 1, 1997, 3:55 AM CST
In force: 51 min
Issued by: NWS Memphis, TN
Area: Whole counties

Counties Pontotoc County, MS, Union County, MS

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Mar 1, 3:15 AM CST	Tornado F3	Ingomar, MS

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
Mar 1, 1:00 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 9.1 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.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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 010905 RRA
TORMEM
MSC115-145-010955-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS TN HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 355 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTHEASTERN MISSISSIPPI

   ...NORTHERN PONTOTOC COUNTY
   ...UNION COUNTY
 
AT 303 AM CST...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY DOPPLER WEATHER
RADAR 17 MILES SOUTHWEST OF NEW ALBANY OR 7 MILES SOUTH OF PINEDALE
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

THIS TORNADO WILL PASS NEAR ECRU BY 305
AM CST... MYRTLE BY 315 AM CST... NEW ALBANY BY 315 AM CST AND
KEOWNVILLE BY 325 AM CST.

.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 WIbNDOWS.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 1, 12:41 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Calhoun, Pontotoc	49 min
Mar 1, 12:44 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MEG	Calhoun, Pontotoc	51 min
Mar 1, 1:09 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MEG	Lee, Union	31 min
Mar 1, 2:08 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Yalobusha	32 min
Mar 1, 2:20 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MEG	Yalobusha	35 min
Mar 1, 2:33 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Tishomingo	32 min
Mar 1, 2:35 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MEG	Calhoun	35 min
Mar 1, 2:41 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MEG	Tishomingo	19 min
Mar 1, 2:49 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MEG	Lafayette	31 min
Mar 1, 5:28 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Tippah	32 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 1997 Every tornado warning in 1997 Tornadoes 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.