Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 816

December 31, 20024 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 31, 2002, 2:50 AM CST for 4 states. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Dec 31, 2002, 2:50 AM CST (08:50 UTC)
Expired: Dec 31, 2002, 8:00 AM CST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 25 counties

Baldwin County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Covington County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Mobile County, AL, Washington County, AL, Escambia County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Jefferson Parish, LA, Lafourche Parish, LA, Orleans Parish, LA, Plaquemines Parish, LA, Saint Bernard Parish, LA, Saint Charles Parish, LA, Saint Tammany Parish, LA, Forrest County, MS, George County, MS, Greene County, MS, Hancock County, MS, Harrison County, MS, Jackson County, MS, Lamar County, MS, Pearl River County, MS, Perry County, MS, Stone County, MS

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 31, 3:01 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Pearl River, Walthall	59 min
Dec 31, 3:12 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Jefferson, Saint Tammany	63 min
Dec 31, 4:08 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Lamar	42 min
Dec 31, 4:09 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Lamar	41 min
Dec 31, 4:37 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Forrest	23 min
Dec 31, 5:22 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Jackson	53 min
Dec 31, 5:31 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Plaquemines	59 min
Dec 31, 6:14 AM CST	Tornado Warning	LIX	Jackson	31 min

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 00:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 66 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: 80 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 856 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 192 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 166 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 310856
SEL6  
SPC WW 310850
ALZ000-FLZ000-LAZ000-MSZ000-CWZ000-311400-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 816
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
250 AM CST TUE DEC 31 2002

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

   SOUTHWEST ALABAMA                            
   EXTREME WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE                            
   SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA                          
   SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI                        
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS                     

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY MORNING UNTIL 800 AM CST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO
70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 95 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES SOUTH OF BOOTHVILLE LOUISIANA TO 60 MILES
NORTH 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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 815.  WATCH NUMBER 815 WILL NOT BE IN
EFFECT AFTER 300 AM CST.

DISCUSSION...VIGOROUS SQUALL LINE CONTINUES TO MOVE ENEWD AT 45-50
KT.  SURFACE WINDS HAVE BACKED OVER SERN LA ENHANCING 0-1KM
HELICITY ALONG INSTABILITY GRADIENT WITH MUCAPE TO 1000 J/KG. 
ENHANCED HELICITY INDICATES THE POSSIBILITY OF HP SUPERCELLS AHEAD
OF THE ADVANCING LINE.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH...EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 400. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23040.


...MCCARTHY

312,0861 285,0874 285,0905 312,0892

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 31, 7:35 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Dale, Escambia, Geneva and 2 more	5 hr
Dec 31, 12:30 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Calhoun, Columbia, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Jefferson and 7 more	6 hr
Dec 31, 3:05 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Alachua, Charlotte, Citrus, DeSoto, Dixie, Flagler and 24 more	6 hr
Dec 31, 3:55 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Hamilton and 4 more	5 hr
Dec 30, 8:55 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Calcasieu and 24 more	5 hr
Dec 31, 12:00 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville and 18 more	5 hr

Nearby

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