Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Watches in 2008

Tornado Watch 251

May 2, 20084 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 2, 2008, 1:54 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 2, 2008, 1:54 PM CDT (18:54 UTC)
Expired: May 2, 2008, 8:00 PM CDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected: 1.5 in
Strongest gust expected: 60 kt

All 56 counties

Arkansas County, AR, Ashley County, AR, Bradley County, AR, Chicot County, AR, Crittenden County, AR, Cross County, AR, Desha County, AR, Drew County, AR, Lee County, AR, Lincoln County, AR, Mississippi County, AR, Monroe County, AR, Phillips County, AR, St. Francis County, AR, Pemiscot County, MO, Alcorn County, MS, Benton County, MS, Bolivar County, MS, Calhoun County, MS, Coahoma County, MS, DeSoto County, MS, Grenada County, MS, Lafayette County, MS, Leflore County, MS, Marshall County, MS, Panola County, MS, Pontotoc County, MS, Quitman County, MS, Sunflower County, MS, Tallahatchie County, MS, Tate County, MS, Tippah County, MS, Tunica County, MS, Union County, MS, Washington County, MS, Yalobusha County, MS, Carroll County, TN, Chester County, TN, Crockett County, TN, Decatur County, TN, Dyer County, TN, Fayette County, TN, Gibson County, TN, Hardeman County, TN, Hardin County, TN, Haywood County, TN, Henderson County, TN, Henry County, TN, Lake County, TN, Lauderdale County, TN, Madison County, TN, McNairy County, TN, Obion County, TN, Shelby County, TN, Tipton County, TN, Weakley County, TN

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 21 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:57 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 SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes: 70%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes: 40%
Ten or more severe wind reports: 60%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more: 30%
Ten or more severe hail reports: 50%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more: 30%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports: 90%

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 2, 2:07 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Arkansas, Cleveland, Jefferson, Lincoln	53 min
May 2, 2:12 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LZK	Monroe	18 min
May 2, 2:18 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Cross, Mississippi, Poinsett	42 min
May 2, 2:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Benton, Lafayette, Marshall	39 min
May 2, 2:25 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Cross, Lee, St. Francis	50 min
May 2, 2:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Arkansas, Monroe	49 min
May 2, 2:33 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LZK	Arkansas, Monroe	45 min
May 2, 2:42 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Shelby	93 min
May 2, 2:46 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LZK	Arkansas, Cleveland, Jefferson, Lincoln	44 min
May 2, 2:54 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Mississippi	51 min
May 2, 2:56 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Crittenden, Cross, St. Francis	49 min
May 2, 2:57 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Cross, St. Francis	93 min
May 2, 3:03 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Lee, Phillips, St. Francis	57 min
May 2, 3:05 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Gibson, Haywood, Madison	25 min
May 2, 3:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Tate	48 min
May 2, 3:23 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Crittenden, Cross, Mississippi	52 min
May 2, 3:28 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LZK	Arkansas, Jefferson, Lincoln	36 min
May 2, 3:30 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Coahoma, Tate, Tunica	45 min
May 2, 3:31 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Crittenden, Mississippi	89 min
May 2, 3:33 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Henderson, Madison	42 min
May 2, 3:41 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Crockett, Fayette, Gibson, Haywood, Madison	94 min
May 2, 3:51 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Carroll, Henderson, Madison	39 min
May 2, 3:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Bolivar, Sunflower	24 min
May 2, 3:55 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Mississippi	50 min
May 2, 4:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Panola, Tallahatchie, Yalobusha	45 min
May 2, 4:00 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Carroll, Henderson, Madison	90 min
May 2, 4:03 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Crittenden, Lee	29 min
May 2, 4:05 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Mississippi	40 min
May 2, 4:08 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	DeSoto, Marshall, Tate	42 min
May 2, 4:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Coahoma, Panola, Quitman, Tallahatchie	46 min
May 2, 4:24 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Decatur	96 min
May 2, 4:24 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Carroll, Henderson	21 min
May 2, 4:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Benton, Marshall, Tate	50 min
May 2, 4:29 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Dyer, Obion	30 min
May 2, 4:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Lafayette, Panola	30 min
May 2, 4:35 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Mississippi	40 min
May 2, 4:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Lafayette, Panola, Yalobusha	23 min
May 2, 4:38 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Lauderdale, Tipton	97 min
May 2, 4:48 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Benton, Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Union	42 min
May 2, 4:55 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Mississippi	95 min
May 2, 5:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Panola, Quitman	44 min
May 2, 5:01 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Shelby	59 min
May 2, 5:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Benton, Lafayette, Tippah, Union	42 min
May 2, 5:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Phillips	39 min
May 2, 5:10 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Tate	95 min
May 2, 5:10 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Haywood, Lauderdale	50 min
May 2, 5:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Bolivar	21 min
May 2, 5:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Lafayette, Panola, Tate	42 min
May 2, 5:21 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Haywood, Weakley	84 min
May 2, 5:24 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Lafayette, Union	51 min
May 2, 5:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Coahoma, Quitman	46 min
May 2, 5:30 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Alcorn, Benton, Lafayette, Marshall, Prentiss, Tippah and 1 more	90 min
May 2, 5:33 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Union	42 min
May 2, 5:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Bolivar	49 min
May 2, 5:56 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Tippah, Union	49 min
May 2, 6:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Ashley, Chicot	59 min
May 2, 6:14 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Prentiss, Union	31 min
May 2, 6:16 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Lafayette, Union	44 min
May 2, 6:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Coahoma, Quitman	41 min
May 2, 6:20 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	JAN	Ashley, Chicot	40 min
May 2, 6:27 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Alcorn, Prentiss	33 min
May 2, 6:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Panola, Tate	30 min
May 2, 6:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Drew	26 min
May 2, 6:37 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Hardin	83 min
May 2, 6:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Bolivar	63 min
May 2, 6:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Desha	31 min
May 2, 6:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Benton, Tippah, Union	44 min
May 2, 6:52 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Lee, Prentiss, Tippah, Union	38 min
May 2, 6:53 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Coahoma, DeSoto, Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Quitman and 2 more	6 hr
May 2, 6:56 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	JAN	Chicot	64 min
May 2, 7:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Phillips	45 min
May 2, 7:01 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Alcorn, Benton, Lafayette, Marshall, Prentiss, Tippah and 1 more	9 hr
May 2, 7:03 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Alcorn, Prentiss, Tishomingo	42 min
May 2, 7:03 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Benton, Marshall, Tippah	31 min
May 2, 7:13 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Coahoma, Panola, Quitman, Tallahatchie, Yalobusha	6 hr
May 2, 7:18 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	JAN	Bolivar, Sunflower	57 min
May 2, 7:23 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Mississippi	4 hr
May 2, 7:29 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Prentiss, Tippah	46 min
May 2, 7:35 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Chester, Crockett, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Haywood and 4 more	6 hr
May 2, 7:35 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Hardin	25 min
May 2, 7:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Desha	65 min
May 2, 7:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Alcorn	48 min
May 2, 7:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Coahoma, Quitman, Tallahatchie	45 min
May 2, 7:52 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	JAN	Bolivar, Sunflower	53 min
May 2, 7:57 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	JAN	Bolivar	3 hr
May 2, 8:00 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	JAN	Ashley	45 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 12:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 39 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: 1314 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -56 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 609 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 532 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 505 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 3.8
Supercell composite: 15.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 2, 1:09 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Madison, Sebastian and 1 more	7 hr
May 2, 4:22 AM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Boone, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan and 6 more	53 min
May 2, 5:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Baxter, Boone, Clark, Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner and 25 more	5 hr
May 2, 7:07 AM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Fulton, Hot Spring, Izard and 5 more	53 min
May 2, 8:49 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Arkansas, Bradley, Calhoun, Clark, Clay, Cleburne and 43 more	6 hr
May 2, 10:20 AM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Arkansas, Calhoun, Clark, Clay, Cleveland, Craighead and 23 more	85 min
May 2, 12:12 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Chicot, Cleveland and 18 more	2 hr
May 2, 3:35 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Arkansas, Crittenden, Cross, Desha, Drew, Lee and 4 more	85 min
May 2, 5:18 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Columbia, Union	6 hr
May 2, 10:44 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden and 16 more	9 hr
May 2, 2:21 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Adams, Amite, Claiborne, Copiah, Covington, Forrest and 24 more	114 min
May 2, 4:43 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Attala, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Clay, Holmes and 16 more	7 hr
May 1, 7:24 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Andrew, Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell, Cass, Clay and 12 more	66 min
May 1, 10:04 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Andrew, Atchison, Barton, Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell and 34 more	116 min
May 1, 11:29 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Adair, Andrew, Audrain, Barton, Bates, Benton and 59 more	91 min
May 2, 12:53 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Adair, Andrew, Barry, Barton, Bates, Benton and 46 more	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2008 Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 2008 Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 2008 Every tornado watch in 2008

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.