Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 20, NWS Memphis, TN

November 24, 2001DeSoto County, Mississippi

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Nov 24, 2001, 3:49 AM CST for DeSoto County, Mississippi. It was in force for 41 min. 4 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Nov 24, 2001, 3:49 AM CST (09:49 UTC)
Expired: Nov 24, 2001, 4:30 AM CST
In force: 41 min
Issued by: NWS Memphis, TN
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County DeSoto County, MS

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 61 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:53 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Nov 24, 4:08 AM CST	Hail 1	Hernando, MS
Nov 24, 4:10 AM CST	Tornado F2	Lewisburg, MS	The tornado began just southwest of Lewisburg in eastern De Soto county and moved northeast. Nineteen homes were destroyed and 119 homes were damaged. Numerous trees were also knocked down.
Nov 24, 4:18 AM CST	Hail 0.88	Pleasant Hill, MS
Nov 24, 4:20 AM CST	Thunderstorm Wind	Olive Branch, MS	One mobile home was overturned.

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
Nov 24, 1:15 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 3 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: 571 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 945 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 331 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 419 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.6
Supercell composite: 6.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

894 
WFUS54 KMEG 240950
TORMEM
MSC033-241030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
349 AM CST SAT NOV 24 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN AND EASTERN DESOTO COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI

* UNTIL 430 AM CST.

* AT 348 AM CST...WEATHER RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE A TORNADO 9    
  MILES SOUTH OF HERNANDO...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

* CITIES IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO THROUGH 430 AM CST INCLUDE...
  HERNANDO...
  LEWISBURG...
  OLIVE BRANCH...

.IF YOU ARE NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...TAKE COVER IN AN INTERIOR
ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. PROTECT YOUR BODY FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

.STAY TUNED TO THIS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROADCAST FOR THE LATEST
UPDATES AND INFORMATION.

LAT...LON 3469 9019 3468 9004 3473 8989 3479 8974
          3500 8971 3502 8991

The office that day

Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 24, 2:43 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MEG	Coahoma, Quitman	47 min
Nov 24, 3:26 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MEG	Panola, Quitman, Tate	49 min
Nov 24, 4:52 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	DeSoto	2 hr
Nov 24, 7:08 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Tippah	37 min
Nov 24, 7:23 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Pontotoc, Union	37 min
Nov 24, 7:45 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Tippah	30 min
Nov 24, 8:09 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Prentiss, Union	36 min
Nov 24, 8:19 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Lee, Pontotoc	26 min
Nov 24, 8:43 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Alcorn, Tishomingo	32 min
Nov 24, 8:53 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Prentiss	37 min
Nov 24, 9:30 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Monroe	45 min
Nov 24, 9:46 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MEG	Itawamba	44 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 2001 Every tornado warning in 2001 Tornadoes in 2001

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.