Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Jackson, MS

January 21, 1999Bolivar County, Mississippi

NWS Jackson, MS issued this tornado warning at Jan 21, 1999, 3:07 PM CST for Bolivar County, Mississippi. It was in force for 33 min. 2 reports 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
Jan 21, 1999, 3:07 PM CST (21:07 UTC)
Expired
Jan 21, 1999, 3:40 PM CST
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Jackson, MS
Area
Whole counties

County Bolivar County, MS

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 172 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:09 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jan 21, 3:10 PM CSTTornado F1Malvina, MSTwo mobile homes were destroyed and several other houses had minor damage.
Jan 21, 3:16 PM CSTTornado F1Cleveland, MSOne mobile home was over-turned and a roof was torn off of a shop. A tractor was also flipped over.

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 nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 143 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 1999-01-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 701 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 1999-01-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 258 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
701 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-198 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
594 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
258 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
227 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KJAN 212107 RRA
TORJAN
MSC011-212140-

BULLETIN- EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
307 PM CST THU JAN 21 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  BOLIVAR COUNTY IN NORTHWESTERN MISSISSIPPI

* UNTIL 340 PM CST

* AT 305 PM CST... RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF
  PRODUCING A TORNADO 15 MILES WEST OF CLEVELAND OR 10 MILES SOUTH
  OF GUNNISON... MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM INCLUDE...
  BEULAH AT 310 PM CST
  GUNNISON AT 315 PM CST
  SHELBY AT 320 PM CST

IF YOU ARE IN A MULTIPLE STORY BUILDING...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR
ROOM AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

65

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

Special weather statement, Jan 21, 9:45 AM CST, 5 hours 22 minutes before
ARZ074-075-LAZ007>009-015-016-023>026-MSZ018-019-025>066-072>074-
220600-

AREA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
945 AM CST THU JAN 21 1999

...SIGNIFICANT OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS STARTING TONIGHT...

AN APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL COMBINE WITH INCREASING
JET STREAM ENERGY AND ABUNDANT MOISTURE ALREADY IN PLACE TO TRIGGER
AN OUTBREAK OF SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER STARTING TONIGHT.

IN THE HEAT OF THE LATE AFTERNOON...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL
DEVELOP OVER PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS...NORTHEAST LOUISIANA
BEFORE SPREADING INTO NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI EARLY TONIGHT. THESE
STORMS COULD RAPIDLY REACH SEVERE LIMITS AS THEY RACE NORTHEASTWARD
AT SPEEDS OF 50 MPH OR GREATER.  THE RAPID MOVEMENT OF THE STORMS WILL
MEAN EXTREMELY HIGH WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG WITH VERY LARGE HAIL.

AS LOW LEVEL WINDS STRENGTHEN TONIGHT...CONDITIONS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADO FORMATION...INCLUDING ISOLATED VERY DAMAGING TORNADOES. WHEN
WARNINGS ARE ISSUED...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STRONGLY RECOMMENDS
THAT IMMEDITATE SAFETY ACTIONS BE TAKEN...YOUR LIFE MAY DEPEND ON IT.

INITIALLY...MOST OF THE SEVERE WEATHER SHOULD REMAIN NORTHWEST OF A
COLUMBUS TO JACKSON TO NATCHEZ MISSISSIPPI LINE TONIGHT. SEVERE WEATHER
COULD ALSO IMPACT MUCH OF THE AREA ON FRIDAY.

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS AND EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT/CIVIL DEFENSE PERSONNEL WILL LIKELY BE REQUIRED BY TONIGHT.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...PLEASE VISIT OUR INTERNET WEB SITE AT:
HTTP://WWW.JANNWS.STATE.MS.US     /IN LOWER CASE LETTERS/
Special weather statement, Jan 21, 10:30 AM CST, 4 hours 37 minutes before
ARZ074-075-LAZ007>009-015-016-023>026-MSZ018-019-025>066-072>074-
230400-

AREA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
1030 AM CST THU JAN 21 1999

...SIGNIFICANT OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH TONIGHT...

A PASSING UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL COMBINE WITH ABUNDANT
JET STREAM ENERGY AND ABUNDANT MOISTURE ALREADY IN PLACE TO TRIGGER
AN OUTBREAK OF SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER TODAY INTO TONIGHT.

A LINE OF STRONG STORMS WILL BE PASSING THROUGH THE STATE TODAY INTO
TONIGHT. THE LINE OF STORMS WILL BE MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH WITH INDIVIDUAL
STORMS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. THESE STORMS CAN RAPIDLY REACH SEVERE
LIMITS AS THEY RACE NORTHEASTWARD.  THE RAPID MOVEMENT OF THE STORMS WILL
MEAN EXTREMELY HIGH WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG WITH VERY LARGE HAIL.

WITH STRONG...LOW LEVEL WINDS...CONDITIONS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADO FORMATION...INCLUDING ISOLATED VERY DAMAGING TORNADOES. WHEN
WARNINGS ARE ISSUED...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STRONGLY RECOMMENDS
THAT IMMEDIATE SAFETY ACTIONS BE TAKEN...YOUR LIFE MAY DEPEND ON IT.

AS THE COLD FRONT PASSES THROUGH THE STATE TONIGHT INTO EARLY
SATURDAY...COOLER MORE STABLE AIR WILL PREVENT THE FORMATION OF
THUNDERSTORMS SATURDAY.

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS AND EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT/CIVIL DEFENSE PERSONNEL WILL BE REQUIRED THROUGH TONIGHT.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...PLEASE VISIT OUR INTERNET WEB SITE AT:
HTTP://WWW.JANNWS.STATE.MS.US     /IN LOWER CASE LETTERS/

The office that day

Everything else NWS Jackson, MS issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 21, 2:34 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANBolivar46 min
Jan 21, 4:17 PM CSTTornado WarningJANBolivar48 min
Jan 21, 5:04 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANBolivar31 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 1999Every tornado warning in 1999Tornadoes in 1999

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.