Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Watches in 1998
Tornado Watch 233
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 16, 1998, 4:00 PM CDT for 16 counties in Alabama; Ashley County, Chicot County, Arkansas; 36 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 16, 1998, 4:00 PM CDT (21:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 16, 1998, 10:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 54 counties
Colbert County, AL, Cullman County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Franklin County, AL, Jackson County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Lauderdale County, AL, Lawrence County, AL, Limestone County, AL, Madison County, AL, Marion County, AL, Marshall County, AL, Morgan County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Walker County, AL, Winston County, AL, Ashley County, AR, Chicot County, AR, Alcorn County, MS, Attala County, MS, Benton County, MS, Bolivar County, MS, Calhoun County, MS, Carroll County, MS, Chickasaw County, MS, Choctaw County, MS, Clay County, MS, Grenada County, MS, Holmes County, MS, Humphreys County, MS, Itawamba County, MS, Lafayette County, MS, Lee County, MS, Leflore County, MS, Lowndes County, MS, Marshall County, MS, Monroe County, MS, Montgomery County, MS, Noxubee County, MS, Oktibbeha County, MS, Panola County, MS, Pontotoc County, MS, Prentiss County, MS, Quitman County, MS, Sunflower County, MS, Tallahatchie County, MS, Tate County, MS, Tippah County, MS, Tishomingo County, MS, Union County, MS, Washington County, MS, Webster County, MS, Winston County, MS, Yalobusha County, MS
Warnings issued inside it
35 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 4:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Bolivar | 33 min |
| Apr 16, 4:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Sunflower | 33 min |
| Apr 16, 4:39 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Bolivar | 46 min |
| Apr 16, 4:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Tate | 37 min |
| Apr 16, 4:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Marshall | 65 min |
| Apr 16, 4:53 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Sunflower | 47 min |
| Apr 16, 4:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Tallahatchie | 61 min |
| Apr 16, 4:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Panola | 35 min |
| Apr 16, 4:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Quitman | 18 min |
| Apr 16, 5:02 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Oktibbeha | 48 min |
| Apr 16, 5:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Lafayette | 31 min |
| Apr 16, 5:17 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Leflore | 43 min |
| Apr 16, 5:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Benton | 51 min |
| Apr 16, 5:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Grenada | 45 min |
| Apr 16, 6:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert, Lauderdale | 47 min |
| Apr 16, 6:28 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Carroll | 47 min |
| Apr 16, 6:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Grenada | 32 min |
| Apr 16, 6:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Calhoun | 48 min |
| Apr 16, 6:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 62 min |
| Apr 16, 7:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 49 min |
| Apr 16, 7:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert | 34 min |
| Apr 16, 7:11 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lamar | 49 min |
| Apr 16, 7:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lauderdale | 51 min |
| Apr 16, 7:14 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Lowndes | 36 min |
| Apr 16, 7:17 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Monroe | 33 min |
| Apr 16, 7:35 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette | 45 min |
| Apr 16, 7:48 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Limestone | 47 min |
| Apr 16, 8:03 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Walker | 47 min |
| Apr 16, 8:14 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Madison | 66 min |
| Apr 16, 8:29 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jackson | 61 min |
| Apr 16, 8:32 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Winston | 48 min |
| Apr 16, 8:35 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cullman | 65 min |
| Apr 16, 8:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 34 min |
| Apr 16, 9:34 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jackson | 36 min |
| Apr 16, 9:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marshall | 50 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 127 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
- 708 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -5 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 497 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 69 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 119 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 223 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.8
- Supercell composite
- 2.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
021 WWUS9 KMKC 162040 SEL3 MKC WW 162040 MSZ000-ALZ000-ARZ000-170300- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 233 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 340 PM CDT THU APR 16 1998 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI NORTHWEST ALABAMA SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 400 PM UNTIL 1000 PM 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 120 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES SOUTH OF GREENWOOD MISSISSIPPI TO 20 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF MUSCLE SHOALS 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. OTHER WATCH INFORMATION... CONTINUE...WW 228...WW 230...WW 231...WW 232... DISCUSSION...SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...INCLUDING SUPERCELLS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES...POSSIBLE THIS EVENING AS CONTINUED NORTHEASTWARD MOVEMENT OF UPPER-LEVEL JET STREAK ENHANCES LARGE SCALE ASCENT AHEAD OF EASTWARD-MOVING COLD FRONT. 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 480. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25040. ...CORFIDI 325,0920 350,0893 350,0852 325,0880
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 10:00 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Lauderdale | 6 hr |
| Apr 16, 6:30 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Choctaw, Greene, Sumter | 4 hr |
| Apr 16, 12:00 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Arkansas, Clay, Cleburne, Conway, Craighead, Crittenden and 31 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 16, 12:15 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Little River, Miller, Polk, Sevier | 6 hr |
| Apr 16, 7:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Cleburne, Conway, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Faulkner and 20 more | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 1998Tornado Watches in Alabama, 1998Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 1998Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.