Alert archive / Mississippi / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2009

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 1, NWS Memphis, TN

January 3, 2009Calhoun County, Lafayette County, Mississippi

NWS Memphis, TN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jan 3, 2009, 4:10 PM CST for Calhoun County, Lafayette County, Mississippi. It was in force for 35 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jan 3, 2009, 4:10 PM CST (22:10 UTC)
Expired
Jan 3, 2009, 4:45 PM CST
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Calhoun County, MS, Lafayette County, MS

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 103 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:10 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 10.2 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 12:00Z on 2009-01-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 349 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 12:00Z on 2009-01-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 141 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
349 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-59 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
454 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
120 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Memphis, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jan 3, 3:49 PM CST, 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 3, 3:49 PM CST, 21 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
349 PM CST SAT JAN 3 2009

.DISCUSSION...

A SHORTWAVE WILL CONTINUE TRACKING EASTWARD ALONG THE GULF COAST
REGION TONIGHT WHERE A HIGH CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
WILL EXIST. EXPECT A LOWER CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE
THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH TONIGHT BETWEEN THE SYSTEM TO
THE SOUTH AND AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT FROM THE NORTHWEST. THE
COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH SUNDAY AND PROVIDE A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

A SURFACE LOW WILL TRACK ACROSS THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY INTO
THE SOUTHEAST STATES MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY. THIS WILL
PROVIDE A HIGH CHANCE OF RAIN DURING THE PERIOD. COLDER AIR ON THE
BACK SIDE OF THE LOW COMBINED WITH A SHORTWAVE WILL PROVIDE A
CHANCE OF RAIN/SNOW MIX TUESDAY NIGHT. A FEW FLURRIES OR SNOW
SHOWERS MAY LINGER INTO WEDNESDAY.

A WEAK OVERRUNNING SCENARIO MAY PROVIDE ANOTHER CHANCE OF
PRECIPITATION FRIDAY INTO EARLY SATURDAY. AIRMASS MAY BE COLD
ENOUGH TO PROVIDE A RAIN/SNOW MIX FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY BUT
EXPECT LIGHT PRECIPITATION AT THIS TIME.

SWC

&&

.AVIATION...
18Z TAFS

17Z SURFACE MAPS SHOWED A DIFFUSE WARM FRONT EXTENDING FROM JUST
NORTH AND EAST OF A KTUP TO KMKL LINE. FLIGHT CATEGORIES HAVE
IMPROVED TO MVFR AT KMEM AND KJBR AT 17Z. EXPECT KMKL TO FOLLOW
SUIT LATER THIS AFTERNOON. KTUP WILL BE A TOUGHER CALL...GIVEN THE
DEEP MOISTURE FLOWING IN FROM CENTRAL MS AND WIDESPREAD TSRA
COVERAGE TO THE SOUTH...OVER SOUTHERN MS.

FOR THE POST 00Z PERIODS...A RATHER PRONOUNCED SHORTWAVE DISTURBANCE
ALONG THE SOUTHWEST LA COAST AT MIDDAY WILL LIFT WELL TO THE EAST
OF THE AREA THIS EVENING. THE MODIFIED MARINE LAYER OVER THE
MIDSOUTH WILL REMAIN IN TACT. SOME SHORT LIVED BREAKS IN THE MVFR
CIGS EXPECTED THIS EVENING BEHIND THE SHORTWAVE.

CIGS SHOULD LOWER WITH DIURNAL COOLING AND MORE GULF MOISTURE
OVERSPREADING THE STABLE BOUNDARY LAYER FROM THE SOUTHWEST.
GFS LAMP GUIDANCE APPEARS TO HOLD ONTO THE VLIFR CIGS A LITTLE TOO
LONG BEYOND 12Z SUNDAY...BASED ON THE DRIER NAM MODEL SOUNDINGS.

PWB

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
MEM  56  59  35  44 /  30  30  10  40
MKL  54  58  32  45 /  30  30  10  30
JBR  52  53  27  40 /  30  30  10  20
TUP  55  67  39  47 /  40  30  10  60

&&

.MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AR...NONE.
MO...NONE.
MS...NONE.
TN...NONE.
&&
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 3, 10:37 AM CST, 5 hours 33 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 3, 3:50 PM CST, 20 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
350 PM CST SAT JAN 3 2009

MSZ013-015-022-032215-
LAFAYETTE MS-PONTOTOC MS-CALHOUN MS-
350 PM CST SAT JAN 3 2009

...THIS SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IS FOR...

  NORTHWESTERN CALHOUN COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI...
  NORTHWESTERN PONTOTOC COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI...
  SOUTHEASTERN LAFAYETTE COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI...

A STRONG THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING PEA TO DIME SIZE HAIL WAS LOCATED 3
MILES SOUTHWEST OF PARIS AT 350 PM CST...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

PEOPLE IN CALHOUN...LAFAYETTE AND PONTOTOC COUNTIES...INCLUDING
LOCATIONS NEAR PONTOTOC...SHOULD MONITOR THIS STORM CLOSELY THIS
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 415 PM CST.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 2, 10:01 PM CSTDense Fog AdvisoryMEGCalhoun, Chickasaw, Coahoma, Itawamba, Lafayette, Lee and 9 more12 hr
Jan 3, 5:30 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGPontotoc18 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Mississippi, 2009Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2009

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.