Alert archive / Mississippi / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2012

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 330

May 31, 201210 parishes in Louisiana; 24 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 31, 2012, 2:53 PM CDT for 10 parishes in Louisiana; 24 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 31, 2012, 2:53 PM CDT (19:53 UTC)
Expired
May 31, 2012, 7:28 PM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 34 counties

Jefferson Parish, LA, Lafourche Parish, LA, Orleans Parish, LA, Plaquemines Parish, LA, Saint Bernard Parish, LA, Saint Charles Parish, LA, Saint John the Baptist Parish, LA, Saint Tammany Parish, LA, Tangipahoa Parish, LA, Washington Parish, LA, Clarke County, MS, Covington County, MS, Forrest County, MS, George County, MS, Greene County, MS, Hancock County, MS, Harrison County, MS, Jackson County, MS, Jasper County, MS, Jefferson Davis County, MS, Jones County, MS, Lamar County, MS, Lauderdale County, MS, Lawrence County, MS, Marion County, MS, Newton County, MS, Pearl River County, MS, Perry County, MS, Scott County, MS, Simpson County, MS, Smith County, MS, Stone County, MS, Walthall County, MS, Wayne County, MS

What SPC expected

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

Two or more tornadoes
10%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
5%
Ten or more severe wind reports
40%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
Ten or more severe hail reports
30%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
5%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
70%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 31, 2:55 PM CDTTornado WarningLIXLivingston, Saint Helena, Tangipahoa35 min
May 31, 3:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXWalthall24 min
May 31, 3:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANAttala, Carroll, Holmes, Leake, Madison, Scott63 min
May 31, 3:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXWalthall28 min
May 31, 3:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANCopiah, Hinds, Leake, Madison, Rankin, Simpson67 min
May 31, 3:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXWashington29 min
May 31, 3:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANJefferson Davis, Lawrence, Marion55 min
May 31, 3:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXWashington26 min
May 31, 3:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANLeake, Madison, Scott64 min
May 31, 4:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANCovington, Jefferson Davis, Smith66 min
May 31, 4:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANLamar59 min
May 31, 4:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANForrest, Jones62 min
May 31, 4:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANNeshoba, Newton, Winston60 min
May 31, 4:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANJasper, Lauderdale55 min
May 31, 4:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBWayne50 min
May 31, 4:49 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningJANScott116 min
May 31, 4:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANScott33 min
May 31, 5:01 PM CDTTornado WarningJANJasper, Newton34 min
May 31, 5:04 PM CDTTornado WarningJANNewton34 min
May 31, 5:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANClarke, Jones, Lauderdale81 min
May 31, 5:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANJasper, Newton23 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

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 47 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 12:00Z on 2012-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1878 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 12:00Z on 2012-05-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -18 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1878 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
652 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-18 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-31 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.

573 
WWUS20 KWNS 311954
SEL0
SPC WW 311954
LAZ000-MSZ000-CWZ000-010200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 330
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
255 PM CDT THU MAY 31 2012

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

       SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA
       SOUTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI
       COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 255 PM UNTIL
900 PM CDT.

HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 55
STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 55 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA TO 35 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF MERIDIAN
MISSISSIPPI.  FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU0).

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR 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. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY
DO PRODUCE TORNADOES.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 327...WW 328...WW 329...

DISCUSSION...SEVERAL ORGANIZED BANDS OF STRONG/SEVERE STORMS ARE
PROGRESSING EWD ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL MS AND SRN LA.  THESE STORMS
WILL MOVE INTO A MODERATELY UNSTABLE DOWNSTREAM ENVIRONMENT WITH
MLCAPE OF 1500-2000 J/KG.  DEEP LAYER SHEAR IN THE LOWEST 8 KM IS
SUFFICIENT TO MAINTAIN MULTICELL STRUCTURES WITH STRONGER CELLS
CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALIZED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND OCCASIONAL
HAIL.

AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60
KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 24020.


...WEISS

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 31, 9:47 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAcadia, Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Evangeline and 7 more58 min
May 31, 10:41 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAcadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard and 37 more6 hr
May 31, 1:53 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAscension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston and 12 more67 min
May 31, 11:59 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlcorn, Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll and 32 more61 min
May 31, 12:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAlcorn, Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll and 41 more6 hr
May 31, 2:38 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlcorn, Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll and 38 more67 min
May 31, 5:30 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCPrentiss, Tishomingo2 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Mississippi, 2012Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Louisiana, 2012Every severe thunderstorm watch in 2012

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.