Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 55

February 21, 19979 counties in Alabama; 19 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 21, 1997, 4:45 AM CST for 9 counties in Alabama; 19 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Feb 21, 1997, 4:45 AM CST (10:45 UTC)
Expired: Feb 21, 1997, 11:00 AM CST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 28 counties

Bibb County, AL, Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Perry County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Washington County, AL, Clarke County, MS, Covington County, MS, Forrest County, MS, Greene County, MS, Jasper County, MS, Jefferson Davis County, MS, Jones County, MS, Kemper County, MS, Lamar County, MS, Lauderdale County, MS, Marion County, MS, Neshoba County, MS, Newton County, MS, Noxubee County, MS, Perry County, MS, Smith County, MS, Walthall County, MS, Wayne County, MS, Winston County, MS

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 21, 4:57 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Kemper, Noxubee	48 min
Feb 21, 5:29 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Jefferson Davis	31 min
Feb 21, 5:38 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Marion	52 min
Feb 21, 5:43 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Covington, Smith	47 min
Feb 21, 5:57 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Perry, Stone, Wayne	63 min
Feb 21, 6:12 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Jasper	48 min
Feb 21, 7:03 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Perry, Stone	57 min
Feb 21, 7:03 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Greene, Wayne	57 min
Feb 21, 7:19 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Choctaw, Washington	56 min
Feb 21, 7:37 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke	53 min
Feb 21, 8:01 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	George, Greene	59 min
Feb 21, 8:04 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene	56 min
Feb 21, 8:14 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Washington	61 min
Feb 21, 9:00 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Bibb	45 min
Feb 21, 9:24 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Mobile, Washington	66 min
Feb 21, 9:35 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke	55 min

The nearest sounding before it

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 00:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 125 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1491 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 156 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 316 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.

969 
WWUS9 KMKC 211005
SEL5  
MKC WW 211005
MSZ000-ALZ000-211700-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 55
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
405 AM CST FRI FEB 21 1997

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

   PARTS OF EASTERN AND SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI                      
   PARTS OF WESTERN ALABAMA                            

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY MORNING UNTIL 1100 AM CST.

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


THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES SOUTH OF LAUREL MISSISSIPPI TO 40 MILES
WEST NORTHWEST OF CENTREVILLE ALABAMA.

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
INCHES.  EXTRM TURBC AND SFC WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CBS
WITH MAX TOPS TO 450.  MEAN WIND VECTOR 20045.

D...POTENTIAL FOR SHORT-LIVED TORNADOES AND DMMG BOW ECHOES TO CONT
THIS MRNG ACRS PARTS OF THE LWR MS VLY AS EJECTING SRN BRANCH SPD
MAX ENHANCES LOLVL VERT SHEAR ACRS RGN. 

E...OTR TSTMS...  CONT..WW 53..WW 54..

...CORFIDI

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 21, 4:45 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Colbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin, Jefferson, Lamar and 11 more	6 hr
Feb 21, 7:00 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Cullman and 16 more	5 hr
Feb 21, 9:15 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Butler and 30 more	5 hr
Feb 20, 11:00 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Choctaw, Coahoma and 16 more	6 hr
Feb 20, 11:45 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Adams, Amite, Attala, Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin and 17 more	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 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.