Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 11, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Apr 8, 1998, 6:39 PM CDT for Itawamba County, Prentiss County, Mississippi. It was in force for 46 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 8, 1998, 6:39 PM CDT (23:39 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 8, 1998, 7:25 PM CDT
- In force
- 46 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Itawamba County, MS, Prentiss County, MS
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 7:15 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Ratliff, MS |
NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.
The watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 2:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 144 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2519 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 87 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 170 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 224 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KMEM 082339 RRA TORMEM MSC057-117-090025- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 639 PM CDT WED APR 8 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS TN HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 725 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN NORTHEASTERN MISSISSIPPI ...NORTHERN ITAWAMBA COUNTY ...SOUTHERN PRENTISS COUNTY AT 636 PM .. A TORNADO CONTINUED INDICATED WITH A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM MOVING EAST NORTHEAST ACROSS NORTHERN LEE COUNTY. BASEBALL SIZE HAIL FELL ON THE GUNTOWN AREA OF LEE COUNTY BETWEEN 620 PM AND 630 PM. DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO IN THAT AREA AT THAT TIME. MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH THE TORNADIC STORM WILL MOVE ALONG THE ITAWAMBA - PRENTISS COUNTY LINE BETWEEN 645 PM AND 705 PM IN THE MARIAETTA AREA. .DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. CARS ARE EASILY TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING. IF NO STURDY STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SAFETY IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT. &
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Local storm report, Apr 8, 6:16 PM CDT, 23 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TENNESSEE
615 PM CST WED APR 08 1998
TIME(CST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0512 PM COLLINSTOWN MS 1.75 INCH HAIL
04/08/98 ALCORN GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL
REPORTED BY ALCORN COUNTY
911
0515 PM CARDWELL MO 1.75 INCH HAIL
04/08/98 DUNKLIN GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL
REPORTED BY KENNETT POLICE
DEPT
0517 PM SAVANNAH TN .75 INCH HAIL
04/08/98 HARDIN DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
SAVANNAH POLICE DEPT
>
0540 PM WYNNE AR 1.75 INCH HAIL
04/08/98 CROSS GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL
REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
SPOTTER
0545 PM COLT AR 1.75 INCH HAIL
04/08/98 ST FRANCIS pGOLFBALL SIZE HAIL
REPORTED BY ST FRANCIS
COUNTY SHERIFFThe office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 8:34 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Coahoma | 31 min |
| Apr 8, 9:05 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Coahoma, Quitman | 50 min |
| Apr 8, 9:23 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | DeSoto | 32 min |
| Apr 8, 5:04 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Alcorn | 31 min |
| Apr 8, 5:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Lafayette | 46 min |
| Apr 8, 5:59 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Lafayette | 31 min |
| Apr 8, 6:09 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Pontotoc | 31 min |
| Apr 8, 6:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Union | 32 min |
| Apr 8, 6:21 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Union | 34 min |
| Apr 8, 6:33 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Lee | 32 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes in 1998
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.