Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 12, NWS New Orleans, LA

January 22, 1999Wilkinson County, Mississippi

NWS New Orleans, LA issued this tornado warning at Jan 22, 1999, 3:06 PM CST for Wilkinson County, Mississippi. It was in force for 34 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Jan 22, 1999, 3:06 PM CST (21:06 UTC)
Expired: Jan 22, 1999, 3:40 PM CST
In force: 34 min
Issued by: NWS New Orleans, LA
Area: Whole counties

County Wilkinson County, MS

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jan 22, 9:45 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr
Jan 22, 2:15 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 174 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: 958 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 631 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 245 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 390 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.3
Supercell composite: 6.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

999 
WFUS1 KNEW 222104 RRA
TORNEW
MSC157-222140-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
306 PM CST FRI JAN 22 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW ORLEANS LA HAS ISSUED A...

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
   - WILKINSON COUNTY IN SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI

* UNTIL 340 PM CST

* AT 304 PM CST... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
  WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 5 MILES NORTH OF WOODVILLE MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS CURRENTLY EXPECTED TO REMAIN OVER RURAL AREAS.

IF YOU ARE IN THESE AREAS...SEEK SHELTER IN A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM
AWAY FROM WINDOWS

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

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 22, 9:57 AM CST, 5 hours 9 minutes before

LAZ034>040-046>050-056>070-MSZ068>071-077-080>082-230300-

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
957 AM CST FRI JAN 22 1999

...A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DAY IS EXPECTED
   TODAY...

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND
   SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI UNTIL 4 PM CST...

A VERY UNSTABLE AIRMASS WITH MOIST AIR OFF THE GULF AND STRONG
SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL PROVIDE A FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON. THE FOLLOWING THREATS ARE EXPECTED...

TIME OF THREAT: FROM 11 AM CST THROUGH 9 PM CST.

TORNADOES...SEVERAL F0 TO F1 TORNADOES WITH ISOLATED VIOLENT (F2-F4)
            TORNADOES POSSIBLE FROM SUPERCELLS.

HAIL...SIZES RANGING FROM MARBLE TO GOLF BALL.

WIND...SUSTAINED WINDS SOUTHEAST 20 TO 30 MPH AND GUSTY OUTSIDE
       THUNDERSTORMS. IN THUNDERSTORM SQUALLS GUSTS 50-70 MPH
       WITH DAMAGING GUSTS TO 90 MPH POSSIBLE FROM STRONGER STORMS.

RAINFALL...RATES OF 1.5 INCHES PER HOUR. LOCALIZED ACCUMULATIONS
           OF 3 TO 5 INCHES POSSIBLE.

ACTIONS...EMERGENCY OPERATIONS SHOULD STAFF ACCORDINGLY FOR BUSY
          WEATHER OPERATIONS. EMERGENCY RESPONSE UNITS AT THE READY.
          ACTIVATION OF SPOTTERS AND HAM RADIO OPERATIONS. RELAY ANY
          WEATHER REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

HAM RADIO OPERATORS...REPORT WEATHER INFORMATION TO THE PACKET SYSTEM
          CALL SIGN W5SLA-5  NWSSIL  FREQUENCY 145.015 VIA SILQSO.

PUBLIC...REVIEW ALL SAFETY PROCEDURES AND HAVE A PLAN OF ACTION.
         LISTEN TO ALL STATEMENTS AND WARNINGS ON TV AND RADIO.
         BE PREPARED TO TAKE COVER WHEN A WARNING IS ISSUED. REPORT
         ANY SEVERE WEATHER DAMAGE TO YOUR SHERIFFS OFFICE.

24

The office that day

Everything else NWS New Orleans, LA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 22, 2:50 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Wilkinson	30 min
Jan 22, 4:40 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Amite, Pike	45 min
Jan 22, 5:07 PM CST	Tornado Warning	LIX	Pike	33 min
Jan 22, 5:18 PM CST	Tornado Warning	LIX	Walthall	32 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 1999 Every tornado warning in 1999 Tornadoes 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.