Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Watches in 1997
Tornado Watch 86
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 2, 1997, 1:15 PM CST for Choctaw County, Alabama; 17 parishes in Louisiana; 42 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 2, 1997, 1:15 PM CST (19:15 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 2, 1997, 7:00 PM CST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 60 counties
Choctaw County, AL, Avoyelles Parish, LA, Caldwell Parish, LA, Catahoula Parish, LA, Concordia Parish, LA, East Carroll Parish, LA, East Feliciana Parish, LA, Franklin Parish, LA, Lafayette Parish, LA, LaSalle Parish, LA, Madison Parish, LA, Ouachita Parish, LA, Pointe Coupee Parish, LA, Richland Parish, LA, Saint Helena Parish, LA, Saint Landry Parish, LA, Tensas Parish, LA, West Feliciana Parish, LA, Adams County, MS, Amite County, MS, Attala County, MS, Choctaw County, MS, Claiborne County, MS, Clarke County, MS, Clay County, MS, Copiah County, MS, Covington County, MS, Franklin County, MS, Hinds County, MS, Holmes County, MS, Issaquena County, MS, Jasper County, MS, Jefferson County, MS, Jefferson Davis County, MS, Jones County, MS, Kemper County, MS, Lamar County, MS, Lauderdale County, MS, Lawrence County, MS, Leake County, MS, Lincoln County, MS, Lowndes County, MS, Madison County, MS, Marion County, MS, Neshoba County, MS, Newton County, MS, Noxubee County, MS, Oktibbeha County, MS, Pike County, MS, Rankin County, MS, Scott County, MS, Sharkey County, MS, Simpson County, MS, Smith County, MS, Walthall County, MS, Warren County, MS, Wayne County, MS, Wilkinson County, MS, Winston County, MS, Yazoo 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 3:56 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Holmes | 49 min |
| Mar 2, 4:16 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Attala | 44 min |
| Mar 2, 4:57 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Choctaw | 48 min |
| Mar 2, 5:17 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Yazoo | 43 min |
| Mar 2, 5:46 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Holmes | 44 min |
| Mar 2, 6:17 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | JAN | Yazoo | 3 hr |
| Mar 2, 6:51 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | JAN | Carroll, Holmes | 3 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 12:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 56 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
- 667 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -7 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 599 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 49 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 174 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 202 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.7
- Supercell composite
- 3.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
997 WWUS9 KMKC 021853 SEL6 MKC WW 021853 MSZ000-LAZ000-030100- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 86 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 1253 PM CST SUN MAR 2 1997 A...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PARTS OF SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI PARTS OF EASTERN LOUISIANA EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING UNTIL 700 PM CST. THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF VERY DAMAGING TORNADOES. ALSO...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF NATCHEZ MISSISSIPPI TO 45 MILES 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 80 KNOTS. A FEW CBS WITH MAX TOPS TO 500. MEAN WIND VECTOR 24045. D...UNSEASONABLY MOIST UNSTABLE AIR MASS EXTENDS ALONG SURFACE BOUNDARY WITH CAPES 1500 TO 2500 J/KG. WIND SHEAR AND SYNOPTIC FORCING WILL INCREASE AS STRONG UPPER VORT AXIS APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. MID LEVEL FLOW INCREASING TO NEAR 80 KTS COMBINED WITH 40 TO 50 KT DEVELOPING LOW LEVEL JET WILL RESULT IN HIGH RISK OF TORNADIC SUPERCELLS AND DAMAGING DOWNBURSTS. E...OTR TSTMS... CONT..WW 85.. ...ROGASH
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 4:00 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Choctaw, Sumter | 6 hr |
| Mar 2, 9:45 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Bienville, Calcasieu, Cameron and 15 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 1, 9:00 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alcorn, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Coahoma, DeSoto and 19 more | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 1997Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 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.