Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 45, NWS Mobile, AL

December 19, 2002Greene County, Mississippi

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Dec 19, 2002, 11:42 AM CST for Greene County, Mississippi. It was in force for 5 hr. 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
Dec 19, 2002, 11:42 AM CST (17:42 UTC)
Expired
Dec 19, 2002, 4:30 PM CST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Greene County, MS

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 64 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:45 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
Dec 19, 11:45 AM CSTTornado F0Rounsaville, MSA weak tornado briefly touched down near Rounsaville. Several trees were blown down.

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Dec 19, 9:35 AM CSTTornado WatchSPC5 hr
Dec 19, 11:40 AM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 151 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 12:00Z on 2002-12-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 668 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Slidell Radar S, LA at 12:00Z on 2002-12-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 304 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
668 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
480 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
304 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
417 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
5.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

353 
WFUS54 KMOB 191742
TORMOB
MSC041-191800-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1142 AM CST THU DEC 19 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  GREENE COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI

* UNTIL NOON CST

* AT 1140 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 2 MILES WEST OF ROUNSAVILLE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF...
  EASTERN GREENE AND NORTHEASTERN GREENE COUNTIES.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...ABANDON VEHICLES AND TRAILER
HOMES AND SEEK A REINFORCED SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

IF IN A MOBILE HOME OR VEHICLE...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3117 8867 3106 8851 3113 8846 3139 8849

The office that day

Everything else NWS Mobile, AL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 19, 12:59 PM CSTTornado WarningMOBGreene4 days

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 2002Every tornado warning in 2002Tornadoes 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.