Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 804

December 24, 20024 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 24, 2002, 2:30 AM CST for 4 states. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Dec 24, 2002, 2:30 AM CST (08:30 UTC)
Expired
Dec 24, 2002, 9:00 AM CST
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 73 counties

Autauga County, AL, Baldwin County, AL, Butler County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Mobile County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Perry County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Washington County, AL, Wilcox County, AL, Escambia County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Jefferson Parish, LA, Lafourche Parish, LA, Livingston Parish, LA, Orleans Parish, LA, Plaquemines Parish, LA, Saint Bernard Parish, LA, Saint Charles Parish, LA, Saint Helena Parish, LA, Saint James Parish, LA, Saint John the Baptist Parish, LA, Saint Tammany Parish, LA, Tangipahoa Parish, LA, Terrebonne Parish, LA, Washington Parish, LA, Clarke County, MS, Copiah County, MS, Covington County, MS, Forrest County, MS, George County, MS, Greene County, MS, Hancock County, MS, Harrison County, MS, Jackson County, MS, Jasper County, MS, Jefferson Davis County, MS, Jones County, MS, Kemper County, MS, Lamar County, MS, Lauderdale County, MS, Lawrence County, MS, Leake County, MS, Lincoln County, MS, Madison County, MS, Marion County, MS, Neshoba County, MS, Newton County, MS, Pearl River County, MS, Perry County, MS, Pike County, MS, Rankin County, MS, Scott County, MS, Simpson County, MS, Smith County, MS, Stone County, MS, Walthall County, MS, Wayne County, MS

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 81 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:33 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 24, 2:36 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBMonroe7 days
Dec 24, 2:40 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBChoctaw7 days
Dec 24, 2:43 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANRankin, Simpson32 min
Dec 24, 2:45 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANJones30 min
Dec 24, 2:50 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANLawrence30 min
Dec 24, 2:54 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANJefferson Davis31 min
Dec 24, 2:58 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANClarke17 min
Dec 24, 3:02 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBClarke, Washington43 min
Dec 24, 3:11 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANCovington, Smith29 min
Dec 24, 3:18 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANMarion32 min
Dec 24, 3:25 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANJasper, Jones30 min
Dec 24, 3:36 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANForrest, Lamar39 min
Dec 24, 3:43 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANClarke42 min
Dec 24, 3:52 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBMonroe38 min
Dec 24, 3:59 AM CSTTornado WarningJANForrest21 min
Dec 24, 4:02 AM CSTTornado WarningJANForrest18 min
Dec 24, 4:36 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLowndes, Montgomery39 min
Dec 24, 6:18 AM CSTTornado WarningLIXHancock, Harrison27 min
Dec 24, 8:18 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningMOBCrenshaw117 min

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 00:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 72 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 00:00Z on 2002-12-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 18 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Slidell Radar S, LA at 00:00Z on 2002-12-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 658 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
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 240831
SEL4  
SPC WW 240830
ALZ000-FLZ000-LAZ000-MSZ000-CWZ000-241500-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 804
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
230 AM CST TUE DEC 24 2002

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

   SOUTHERN ALABAMA                            
   WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE                            
   SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA                          
   SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI                        
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS                     

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY MORNING FROM 230 AM UNTIL 900 AM CST.

 ...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...
 
DAMAGING TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER... THUNDERSTORM
WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN
THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 125 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BOOTHVILLE LOUISIANA TO 60
MILES NORTHEAST OF MERIDIAN MISSISSIPPI.

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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 801...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 803.  WATCH NUMBER 801...803 WILL
NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 230 AM CST.  CONTINUE...WW 802...

DISCUSSION...FAST MOVING SQUALL LINE CONTINUES TO RACE EASTWARD
ACROSS SOUTHERN MS/SOUTHEAST LA...WHILE ISOLATED SUPERCELLS FORM
AHEAD OF LINE.  EXTREMELY STRONG LOW LEVEL SHEAR PROFILES AND
MODERATE INSTABILITY WILL MAINTAIN THE RISK OF ISOLATED STRONG
TORNADOES...AS WELL AS DAMAGING WINDS...FOR SEVERAL MORE HOURS.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH...EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.

...HART

325,0855 290,0870 290,0911 325,0901

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 23, 8:20 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCBaldwin, Choctaw, Clarke, Mobile, Washington7 hr
Dec 24, 5:20 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCBarbour, Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston and 1 more6 hr
Dec 24, 8:20 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval and 9 more5 hr
Dec 24, 12:30 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAlachua, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Dixie, Flagler and 9 more6 hr
Dec 23, 6:00 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAscension, Assumption, Catahoula, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll and 23 more9 hr
Dec 23, 7:10 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAcadia, Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Cameron and 12 more8 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2002Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2002Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2002Every 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.