Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Watches in 2016

Tornado Watch 21

February 23, 201632 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 23, 2016, 2:20 PM CST for 32 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 23, 2016, 2:20 PM CST (20:20 UTC)
Expired
Feb 23, 2016, 8:27 PM CST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 32 counties

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, Jefferson County, MS, Kemper County, MS, Lauderdale County, MS, Lawrence County, MS, Leake 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, Simpson County, MS, Smith County, MS, Warren County, MS, Webster County, MS, Winston County, MS, Yazoo County, MS

The radar

The Jackson/Brandon,MS radar (KDGX), 32 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:20 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
30%
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
10%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
60%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 23, 3:13 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANIssaquena, Warren36 min
Feb 23, 4:03 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANMadison, Yazoo57 min
Feb 23, 4:17 PM CSTTornado WarningJANYazoo23 min
Feb 23, 5:44 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANClarke, Lauderdale43 min
Feb 23, 5:44 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANCarroll, Grenada, Montgomery61 min
Feb 23, 5:58 PM CSTTornado WarningJANClarke, Lauderdale29 min
Feb 23, 8:12 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANAdams, Claiborne, Franklin, Jefferson62 min
Feb 23, 8:14 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANClaiborne, Warren61 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 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 32 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 12:00Z on 2016-02-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 8 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 12:00Z on 2016-02-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 104 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
8 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-131 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
540 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
104 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
148 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

928 
WWUS20 KWNS 232017
SEL1  
SPC WW 232017
MSZ000-240400-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 21
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
220 PM CST TUE FEB 23 2016

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 
  CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI

* EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 220 PM UNTIL
  1000 PM CST.

* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
  A COUPLE TORNADOES POSSIBLE
  ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE
  ISOLATED LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE

SUMMARY...STORMS WILL SPREAD NORTHWARD FROM LOUISIANA AND SOUTHERN
MISSISSIPPI INTO CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY
TONIGHT AS A STORM SYSTEM STRENGTHENS JUST TO THE WEST.  THE
ENVIRONMENT WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR SOME ROTATING STORMS EMBEDDED IN
THE LARGER RAIN AREAS...AND A COUPLE OF TORNADOES WILL BE
POSSIBLE...ALONG WITH DAMAGING GUSTS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 50 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 70 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF
JACKSON MISSISSIPPI TO 70 MILES NORTHEAST OF JACKSON MISSISSIPPI.
 FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU1).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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...CONTINUE...WW 19...WW 20...

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 400.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24045.


...THOMPSON

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 23, 10:44 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHancock91 min
Feb 23, 11:08 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCAmite, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River, Pike and 2 more7 hr
Feb 23, 12:25 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHancock65 min
Feb 23, 1:15 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAmite, Clarke, Copiah, Covington, Forrest, Franklin and 25 more2 hr
Feb 23, 2:13 PM CSTTornado Watch PDSSPCClarke, Covington, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock and 12 more8 hr
Feb 23, 3:08 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHancock, Harrison97 min
Feb 23, 3:30 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClaiborne, Copiah, Hinds, Madison, Rankin, Yazoo90 min
Feb 23, 5:18 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCForrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and 4 more117 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2016Every tornado watch in 2016

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.