Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 33

January 24, 19975 counties in Alabama; 21 parishes in Louisiana; 28 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 24, 1997, 9:00 PM CST for 5 counties in Alabama; 21 parishes in Louisiana; 28 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jan 24, 1997, 9:00 PM CST (03:00 UTC)
Expired: Jan 25, 1997, 3:00 AM CST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 54 counties

Choctaw County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Perry County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Washington County, AL, Ascension Parish, LA, Assumption Parish, LA, East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, East Feliciana Parish, LA, Iberia Parish, LA, Iberville Parish, LA, Jefferson Parish, LA, Lafourche Parish, LA, Livingston Parish, LA, Orleans Parish, LA, Saint Charles Parish, LA, Saint Helena Parish, LA, Saint James Parish, LA, Saint John the Baptist Parish, LA, Saint Martin Parish, LA, Saint Tammany Parish, LA, St. Mary Parish, LA, Tangipahoa Parish, LA, Terrebonne Parish, LA, Washington Parish, LA, West Baton Rouge Parish, LA, Amite County, MS, Clarke County, MS, Copiah County, MS, Covington County, MS, Forrest County, MS, George County, MS, Greene County, MS, Hancock County, MS, Harrison County, MS, Jasper County, MS, Jefferson Davis County, MS, Jones County, MS, Lamar County, MS, Lauderdale County, MS, Lawrence County, MS, Lincoln County, MS, Marion County, MS, Newton County, MS, Pearl River County, MS, Perry County, MS, Pike County, MS, Rankin County, MS, Scott County, MS, Simpson County, MS, Smith County, MS, Stone County, MS, Walthall County, MS, Wayne County, MS

Warnings issued inside it

7 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 24, 9:07 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Smith	38 min
Jan 24, 9:12 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene, Sumter	48 min
Jan 24, 9:40 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Lauderdale	50 min
Jan 24, 9:56 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene, Sumter	64 min
Jan 24, 10:45 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marengo	45 min
Jan 24, 11:18 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Lafourche	27 min
Jan 24, 11:32 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Perry	28 min

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 00:00Z, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 81 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: 2070 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 751 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 98 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 150 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.2
Supercell composite: 7.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

194 
WWUS9 KMKC 250233
SEL3  
MKC WW 250233
MSZ000-ALZ000-LAZ000-250900-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 33
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
833 PM CST FRI JAN 24 1997

A...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR

   PARTS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI                      
   PARTS OF WESTERN ALABAMA                            
   PARTS OF SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA                          
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING UNTIL 300 AM CST.

TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING
THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.


THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HOUMA LOUISIANA TO 30 MILES
NORTH NORTHEAST OF MERIDIAN MISSISSIPPI.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
$$

C...TORNADOES AND A FEW SVR TSTMS WITH HAIL SFC AND ALF TO 1 3/4
INCHES.  EXTRM TURBC AND SFC WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CBS
WITH MAX TOPS TO 450.  MEAN WIND VECTOR 24035.

D...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG APPROACHING COLD FRONT MOVING
INTO WATCH AREA WHERE CAPES FROM 1500 TO 2500 J/KG. STRONG MID
LEVEL VORT MAX APPROACHING REGION WITH 60 KT MID LEVEL FLOW
PROVIDING FAVORABLE SHEAR FOR A FEW SUPERCELLS.


E...OTR TSTMS...  CONT..WW 0029..0030..0031..0032..

...ROGASH

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 24, 8:15 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Geneva, Henry, Houston	6 hr
Jan 24, 11:00 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Chambers and 21 more	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 1997 Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 1997 Tornado Watches in Alabama, 1997 Every tornado watch 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.