Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 345

May 27, 199715 counties in Arkansas; 21 counties in Mississippi; 6 counties in Tennessee

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 27, 1997, 10:00 PM CDT for 15 counties in Arkansas; 21 counties in Mississippi; 6 counties in Tennessee. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 27, 1997, 10:00 PM CDT (03:00 UTC)
Expired: May 28, 1997, 3:00 AM CDT
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 42 counties

Arkansas County, AR, Crittenden County, AR, Cross County, AR, Jackson County, AR, Jefferson County, AR, Lee County, AR, Lincoln County, AR, Lonoke County, AR, Monroe County, AR, Phillips County, AR, Poinsett County, AR, Prairie County, AR, St. Francis County, AR, White County, AR, Woodruff County, AR, Alcorn County, MS, Benton County, MS, Calhoun County, MS, Chickasaw County, MS, Coahoma County, MS, DeSoto County, MS, Itawamba County, MS, Lafayette County, MS, Lee County, MS, Marshall County, MS, Monroe County, MS, Panola County, MS, Pontotoc County, MS, Prentiss County, MS, Quitman County, MS, Tallahatchie County, MS, Tate County, MS, Tippah County, MS, Tunica County, MS, Union County, MS, Yalobusha County, MS, Chester County, TN, Fayette County, TN, Hardeman County, TN, McNairy County, TN, Shelby County, TN, Tipton County, TN

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 27, 10:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Arkansas, Jefferson	48 min
May 27, 10:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Prairie	16 min
May 27, 10:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Monroe	63 min
May 27, 10:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Arkansas, Prairie	36 min
May 27, 11:08 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Lee	32 min
May 27, 11:25 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	LZK	Desha, Drew, Lincoln	3 hr
May 27, 11:25 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	LZK	Arkansas	3 hr
May 27, 11:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Arkansas	48 min
May 28, 1:28 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Faulkner, White	32 min
May 28, 1:41 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Lonoke	34 min
May 28, 1:58 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	LZK	Independence, Jackson	2 hr
May 28, 2:36 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Poinsett	49 min

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 48 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: 2954 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1008 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 14 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 34 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

824 
WWUS9 KMKC 280220
SEL5  
MKC WW 280220
ARZ000-MSZ000-TNZ000-280800-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 345
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
920 PM CDT TUE MAY 27 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   EAST CENTRAL ARKANSAS                           
   NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI                        
   SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE                          

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 1000 PM
UNTIL 300 AM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES NORTH OF PINE BLUFF ARKANSAS TO 40
MILES NORTHEAST OF TUPELO 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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 339.  WATCH NUMBER 339 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 1000 PM
CDT.  CONTINUE...WW 342...WW 343...WW 344...

DISCUSSION...STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP
OVER SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS AND NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI TO THE NORTHWEST
OF GREENWOOD...WHILE OTHER SEVERE STORMS ARE FORMING OVER EAST
CENTRAL ARKANSAS.  ACTIVITY IS DEVELOPING IN MODERATELY UNSTABLE
AIR MASS WITHIN THE SURFACE WARM SECTOR WHERE LIFTED INDEX REACHES
-7.  VAD WIND PROFILES INDICATE STRONG VEERING WITH HEIGHT...AND
WESTERLY MID LEVEL WINDS ARE SHOWING SIGNS OF STRENGTHENING TO 30-
35 KT.  THREAT FOR SEVERE STORMS WILL CONTINUE INTO EARLY MORNING
HOURS...INCLUDING POSSIBILITY OF ISOLATED TORNADOES.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27020.


...WEISS

353,0915 353,0881 334,0881 335,0915

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 27, 8:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Chicot	5 hr
May 28, 12:15 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Attala, Carroll, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Covington and 31 more	5 hr
May 28, 1:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Amite, Clarke, Covington, Forrest, Franklin, George and 17 more	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 1997 Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 1997 Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 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.