Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Watches in 2004

Tornado Watch 347

May 30, 200437 counties in Mississippi; 4 counties in Tennessee

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 30, 2004, 10:55 PM CDT for 37 counties in Mississippi; 4 counties in Tennessee. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 30, 2004, 10:55 PM CDT (03:55 UTC)
Expired
May 31, 2004, 4:00 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 41 counties

Alcorn County, MS, Attala County, MS, Benton County, MS, Bolivar County, MS, Calhoun County, MS, Carroll County, MS, Chickasaw County, MS, Choctaw County, MS, Clay County, MS, Coahoma County, MS, Grenada County, MS, Holmes County, MS, Humphreys County, MS, Itawamba County, MS, Lafayette County, MS, Lee County, MS, Leflore County, MS, Madison County, MS, Marshall County, MS, Monroe County, MS, Montgomery County, MS, Oktibbeha County, MS, Panola County, MS, Pontotoc County, MS, Prentiss County, MS, Quitman County, MS, Sharkey County, MS, Sunflower County, MS, Tallahatchie County, MS, Tate County, MS, Tippah County, MS, Union County, MS, Warren County, MS, Washington County, MS, Webster County, MS, Yalobusha County, MS, Yazoo County, MS, Chester County, TN, Hardeman County, TN, Henderson County, TN, McNairy County, TN

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 145 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:54 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 30, 10:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGAlcorn34 min
May 30, 11:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGPrentiss37 min
May 30, 11:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANMontgomery, Webster59 min
May 30, 11:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLee, Pontotoc23 min
May 30, 11:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGUnion22 min
May 30, 11:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCalhoun, Chickasaw35 min
May 30, 11:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANCarroll24 min
May 30, 11:36 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningJANCarroll, Grenada, Leflore6 hr
May 30, 11:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGItawamba23 min
May 30, 11:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLee17 min
May 30, 11:56 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningJANBolivar, Sunflower, Washington6 hr
May 30, 11:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGChickasaw, Itawamba, Monroe49 min
May 31, 12:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANCarroll44 min
May 31, 12:16 AM CDTTornado WarningJANCarroll, Montgomery44 min
May 31, 12:37 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANWashington48 min
May 31, 12:46 AM CDTTornado WarningJANWashington39 min
May 31, 12:58 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANClay, Oktibbeha47 min
May 31, 1:02 AM CDTTornado WarningJANHumphreys, Sunflower43 min
May 31, 1:23 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANCarroll, Holmes, Leflore57 min
May 31, 2:13 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANAttala47 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 3.9 hours before the alert went out and 91 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 2004-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3112 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 2004-05-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 182 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
3112 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
741 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
182 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
177 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.7
Supercell composite
13.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 310355
SEL7  
SPC WW 310355
MSZ000-TNZ000-310900-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 347
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1055 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004

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

       NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI
       SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING FROM 1055 PM UNTIL
400 AM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 55 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF GREENWOOD
MISSISSIPPI TO 40 MILES NORTHEAST OF TUPELO 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 336. WATCH NUMBER 336 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER
1055 PM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 341...WW 343...WW 344...WW 345...WW
346...

DISCUSSION...LINE OF STORMS WILL CONTINUE BOWING QUICKLY EWD ACROSS
REMAINDER OF NERN MS DURING THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO...WITH TAIL END
SLOWLY ALIGNING ITSELF E-W INTO CENTRAL MS.  INSTABILITY AND SHEAR
REMAIN VERY FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS AND POSSIBLE TORNADOES...BOTH
WITH ACCELERATING BOWING SEGMENTS AND WITH DISCRETE DEVELOPMENT
ALONG ITS OUTFLOW BOUNDARY OVERNIGHT.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25025.


...EVANS

341,0905 354,0881 333,0881 320,0905

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 30, 8:54 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlcorn, Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll and 30 more66 min
May 30, 8:55 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Amite, Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin, Hinds and 10 more65 min
May 30, 9:15 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCChickasaw, Clay, Itawamba, Lee, Monroe, Prentiss and 1 more7 hr
May 30, 10:35 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCIssaquena5 hr
May 30, 11:05 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCItawamba, Lee, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Tishomingo55 min
May 31, 1:06 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCMonroe84 min
May 31, 1:27 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAttala, Choctaw, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Madison and 4 more2 hr
May 31, 9:21 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCForrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and 3 more54 min
May 31, 10:00 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAmite, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison and 9 more6 hr
May 31, 1:06 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAmite, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison and 9 more54 min
May 31, 12:40 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAnderson, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne and 23 more5 hr
May 31, 3:40 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne and 24 more95 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2004Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 2004Every tornado watch in 2004

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.