Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Jackson, MS

March 16, 2002Rankin County, Mississippi

NWS Jackson, MS issued this tornado warning at Mar 16, 2002, 6:38 AM CST for Rankin County, Mississippi. It was in force for 37 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Mar 16, 2002, 6:38 AM CST (12:38 UTC)
Expired: Mar 16, 2002, 7:15 AM CST
In force: 37 min
Issued by: NWS Jackson, MS
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Rankin County, MS

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Mar 16, 6:50 AM CST	Thunderstorm Wind	Brandon, MS	Trees were blown down onto two homes in the Castlewoods subdivision, resulting in minor damage. Other trees were knocked down across the area as well.

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

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 12:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 9 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: 746 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 645 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 116 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 97 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.3
Supercell composite: 2.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KJAN 161238
TORJAN
MSC121-161315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
636 AM CST SAT MAR 16 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  RANKIN COUNTY IN CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI

* UNTIL 715 AM CST

* AT 636 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A 
  TORNADO 3 MILES NORTH OF BRANDON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO...
  BE NEAR LEESBURG BY 710 AM 

IF NO UNDERGROUND SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...GO TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON
THE LOWEST FLOOR. MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES ARE NOT SAFE.

LAT...LON 3232 9017 3220 9002 3234 8974 3258 8985

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 15, 6:26 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Lauderdale	49 min
Mar 15, 7:31 PM CST	Tornado Warning	JAN	Clarke, Jasper, Jones	29 min
Mar 15, 7:33 PM CST	Tornado Warning	JAN	Washington	42 min
Mar 15, 8:29 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Bolivar, Washington	46 min
Mar 15, 8:46 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Sunflower	44 min
Mar 15, 11:46 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Bolivar, Sunflower	29 min
Mar 15, 11:57 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	JAN	Bolivar	108 min
Mar 16, 12:23 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	JAN	Washington	112 min
Mar 16, 3:04 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Yazoo	41 min
Mar 16, 5:07 AM CST	Tornado Warning	JAN	Hinds	23 min
Mar 16, 5:16 AM CST	Tornado Warning	JAN	Rankin	59 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes in 2002

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.