Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Watches in 2011

Tornado Watch 377

May 25, 201120 parishes in Louisiana; 39 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 25, 2011, 9:43 PM CDT for 20 parishes in Louisiana; 39 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 25, 2011, 9:43 PM CDT (02:43 UTC)
Expired
May 26, 2011, 3:07 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 59 counties

Avoyelles Parish, LA, Caldwell Parish, LA, Catahoula Parish, LA, Concordia Parish, LA, East Carroll Parish, LA, Franklin Parish, LA, Grant Parish, LA, Jackson Parish, LA, LaSalle Parish, LA, Madison Parish, LA, Morehouse Parish, LA, Natchitoches Parish, LA, Ouachita Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Richland Parish, LA, Sabine Parish, LA, Tensas Parish, LA, Vernon Parish, LA, West Carroll Parish, LA, Winn Parish, LA, Adams County, MS, Attala County, MS, Carroll County, MS, Choctaw County, MS, Claiborne County, MS, Clay County, MS, Copiah County, MS, Franklin County, MS, Grenada County, MS, Hinds County, MS, Holmes County, MS, Humphreys County, MS, Issaquena County, MS, Jasper County, MS, Jefferson County, MS, Kemper County, MS, Lauderdale County, MS, Lawrence County, MS, Leake County, MS, Leflore County, MS, Lincoln County, MS, Lowndes County, MS, Madison County, MS, Montgomery County, MS, Neshoba County, MS, Newton County, MS, Noxubee County, MS, Oktibbeha County, MS, Rankin County, MS, Scott County, MS, Sharkey County, MS, Simpson County, MS, Smith County, MS, Sunflower County, MS, Warren County, MS, Washington County, MS, Webster County, MS, Winston County, MS, Yazoo County, MS

The radar

The Jackson/Brandon,MS radar (KDGX), 49 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:46 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
40%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
50%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
70%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
30%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
90%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 25, 9:45 PM CDTTornado WarningSHVNatchitoches, Sabine30 min
May 25, 9:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANBolivar, Washington21 min
May 25, 9:52 PM CDTTornado WarningJANHolmes, Humphreys, Leflore, Sunflower23 min
May 25, 9:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANSharkey, Washington22 min
May 25, 9:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVCaldwell, LaSalle, Winn39 min
May 25, 10:02 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningJANGrenada79 min
May 25, 10:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANCarroll, Choctaw, Clay, Montgomery, Oktibbeha, Webster66 min
May 25, 10:16 PM CDTTornado WarningSHVGrant, Natchitoches, Winn44 min
May 25, 10:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANHolmes, Humphreys, Leflore, Sunflower42 min
May 25, 10:21 PM CDTTornado WarningJANCarroll24 min
May 25, 11:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVGrant, LaSalle, Natchitoches39 min
May 25, 11:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAvoyelles, Rapides60 min
May 26, 12:12 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAvoyelles, Rapides63 min
May 26, 12:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANCatahoula, Concordia57 min
May 26, 12:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANAttala, Choctaw, Montgomery43 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

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 00:00Z, 2.7 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Jackson, MS at 00:00Z on 2011-05-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1200 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, Jackson, MS at 00:00Z on 2011-05-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 104 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
1200 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-105 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2164 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
104 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
160 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
5.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

646 
WWUS20 KWNS 260241
SEL7
SPC WW 260241
LAZ000-MSZ000-260900-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 377
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
945 PM CDT WED MAY 25 2011

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

       PARTS OF CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST LOUISIANA
       LARGE PART OF CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING FROM 945 PM
UNTIL 400 AM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60 STATUTE
MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
COLUMBUS MISSISSIPPI TO 25 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF FORT POLK
LOUISIANA.  FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU7).

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 374. WATCH NUMBER 374 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER
945 PM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 373...WW 375...WW 376...

DISCUSSION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE DEVELOPING
E/SE ACROSS THE WATCH AREA WHERE A MDTLY UNSTABLE AND FAVORABLE
SHEARED AIR MASS IS IN PLACE.  IN ADDITION TO LARGE HAIL/DAMAGING
WINDS...TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE...PARTICULARLY ASSOCIATED WITH
ANY SUPERCELL.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
550. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25030.


...HALES

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 25, 7:22 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCUnion53 min
May 25, 7:45 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBienville, Caldwell, De Soto, Grant, Jackson, Lincoln and 9 more60 min
May 26, 2:05 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAscension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Orleans and 10 more85 min
May 26, 5:18 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCOrleans, Saint Bernard, Saint Tammany57 min
May 25, 8:33 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAlcorn, Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, DeSoto, Itawamba and 14 more7 hr
May 25, 10:27 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAttala, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Clay and 14 more2 hr
May 26, 7:56 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCLowndes94 min
May 26, 12:22 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClarke, Covington, Forrest, George, Greene, Jasper and 6 more83 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2011Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2011Every tornado watch in 2011

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.