Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Watches in 1997
Tornado Watch 347
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 28, 1997, 12:15 AM CDT for 16 counties in Alabama; 37 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 28, 1997, 12:15 AM CDT (05:15 UTC)
- Expired
- May 28, 1997, 5:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 53 counties
Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Washington County, AL, Wilcox County, AL, Attala County, MS, Carroll County, MS, Choctaw County, MS, Clarke County, MS, Clay County, MS, Covington County, MS, Forrest County, MS, Greene County, MS, Grenada County, MS, Holmes County, MS, Humphreys County, MS, Jasper County, MS, Jefferson Davis County, MS, Jones County, MS, Kemper County, MS, Lamar County, MS, Lauderdale County, MS, Leake County, MS, Leflore County, MS, Lowndes County, MS, Madison County, MS, Marion County, MS, Montgomery County, MS, Neshoba County, MS, Newton County, MS, Noxubee County, MS, Oktibbeha County, MS, Perry County, MS, Rankin County, MS, Scott County, MS, Simpson County, MS, Smith County, MS, Sunflower County, MS, Wayne County, MS, Webster County, MS, Winston County, MS, Yazoo County, MS
The radar
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 131 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:15 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.
Warnings issued inside it
11 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 12:25 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Lamar, Marion | 65 min |
| May 28, 12:31 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Oktibbeha | 44 min |
| May 28, 12:53 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Jasper | 37 min |
| May 28, 1:05 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Forrest, Jones | 55 min |
| May 28, 1:17 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Choctaw | 58 min |
| May 28, 1:38 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Clarke | 37 min |
| May 28, 2:16 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Choctaw | 59 min |
| May 28, 2:19 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marengo | 71 min |
| May 28, 2:28 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Washington | 47 min |
| May 28, 2:42 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Clarke | 63 min |
| May 28, 3:39 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Wilcox | 51 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 00:00Z, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 151 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
- 3525 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1180 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 10 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 32 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 76 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
380 WWUS9 KMKC 280444 SEL7 MKC WW 280444 MSZ000-ALZ000-281000- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 347 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 1144 PM CDT TUE MAY 27 1997 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALABAMA EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 1215 AM UNTIL 500 AM CDT. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 1/2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 90 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF COLUMBUS AFB MISSISSIPPI TO 65 MILES SOUTHEAST OF LAUREL 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 343. WATCH NUMBER 343 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 1215 AM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 342...WW 344...WW 345...WW 346... DISCUSSION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS APPEAR TO BE ORGANIZING BETTER OVER CENTRAL AND EASTERN MISSISSIPPI AS CONVECTION MOVES EASTWARD 20 KT. ACTIVITY IS MOVING INTO MODERATE TO STRONG INSTABILITY WITH LIFTED INDEX TO -8. VAD WIND PROFILES INDICATE SUBSTANTIAL VEERING WITH HEIGHT...AND 6 HOUR ETA MODEL FORECAST SHOWS STRENGTHENING WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT MOVING OVER THIS REGION. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 1/2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27020. ...WEISS 335,0873 310,0865 310,0895 335,0904
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 1:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke, Marengo, Mobile, Washington | 6 hr |
| May 27, 8:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Attala, Bolivar, Carroll, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clay and 29 more | 5 hr |
| May 27, 10:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alcorn, Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Coahoma, DeSoto and 15 more | 5 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 1997Tornado Watches in Alabama, 1997Every 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.