Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 803

December 23, 20025 counties in Alabama; 11 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 23, 2002, 8:20 PM CST for 5 counties in Alabama; 11 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Dec 23, 2002, 8:20 PM CST (02:20 UTC)
Expired: Dec 24, 2002, 3:00 AM CST
In force: 7 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Baldwin County, AL, Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Mobile County, AL, Washington County, AL, Clarke County, MS, Forrest County, MS, George County, MS, Greene County, MS, Harrison County, MS, Jackson County, MS, Jasper County, MS, Jones County, MS, Perry County, MS, Stone County, MS, Wayne County, MS

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 93 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:24 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.

Warnings issued inside it

14 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 23, 8:20 PM CST	Tornado Warning	JAN	Forrest	30 min
Dec 23, 8:58 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Perry	7 hr
Dec 23, 9:21 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Greene	7 hr
Dec 23, 9:54 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Washington	7 days
Dec 24, 12:56 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Forrest	39 min
Dec 24, 1:24 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Jones	31 min
Dec 24, 1:42 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	JAN	Forrest, Jones, Lamar, Marion	4 hr
Dec 24, 2:06 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Clarke	39 min
Dec 24, 2:10 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Forrest	40 min
Dec 24, 2:19 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Clarke, Washington	7 days
Dec 24, 2:26 AM CST	Tornado Warning	JAN	Clarke	29 min
Dec 24, 2:40 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Choctaw	7 days
Dec 24, 2:45 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Jones	30 min
Dec 24, 2:58 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Clarke	17 min

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 00:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 163 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: 18 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -144 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 472 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 658 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 957 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 3.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 240220
SEL3  
SPC WW 240220
ALZ000-MSZ000-CWZ000-240900-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 803
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
820 PM CST MON DEC 23 2002

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   SOUTHWEST ALABAMA                            
   SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI                        
   COASTAL WATERS                     

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 820 PM UNTIL
300 AM CST.

 ...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...
 
DAMAGING TORNADOES...HAIL TO 0.5 INCH IN DIAMETER... THUNDERSTORM
WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN
THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF LAUREL MISSISSIPPI
TO 50 MILES NORTHEAST OF MOBILE ALABAMA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 801...WW 802...

DISCUSSION...ISOLATED SUPERCELLS MAY CONTINUE TO DEVELOP INVOF
SHALLOW WARM FRONT LIFTING NWD ACROSS REGION...WHERE VERY STRONG
LOW LEVEL SPEED/DIRECTIONAL SHEAR WILL ENHANCE THREAT FOR TORNADOES
AS SURFACE DEWPOINTS RISE INTO THE MID/UPPER 60S.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 0.5 INCH...EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 50 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25040.

...CORFIDI

301,0873 301,0892 321,0892 320,0873

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 24, 2:30 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Autauga, Baldwin, Butler, Chilton, Choctaw, Clarke and 18 more	7 hr
Dec 24, 5:20 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Barbour, Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston and 1 more	6 hr
Dec 23, 6:00 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Adams, Amite, Attala, Claiborne, Copiah, Covington and 25 more	9 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2002 Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2002 Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.