Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Watches in 2020

Tornado Watch 24

February 5, 2020Choctaw County, Clarke County, Washington County, Alabama; 25 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 5, 2020, 5:50 PM CST for Choctaw County, Clarke County, Washington County, Alabama; 25 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 5, 2020, 5:50 PM CST (23:50 UTC)
Expired
Feb 6, 2020, 12:00 AM CST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 28 counties

Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Washington County, AL, Clarke County, MS, Covington County, MS, Forrest County, MS, Greene County, MS, Jasper County, MS, Jefferson Davis County, MS, Jones County, MS, Kemper County, MS, Lamar County, MS, Lauderdale County, MS, Lawrence County, MS, Leake County, MS, Lowndes County, MS, Marion County, MS, Neshoba County, MS, Newton County, MS, Noxubee County, MS, Oktibbeha County, MS, Perry County, MS, Rankin County, MS, Scott County, MS, Simpson County, MS, Smith County, MS, Wayne County, MS, Winston County, MS

The radar

The Jackson/Brandon,MS radar (KDGX), 105 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:50 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
30%
Ten or more severe wind reports
40%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
20%
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 5, 9:30 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANLawrence, Lincoln45 min
Feb 5, 9:41 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANKemper, Lauderdale, Newton31 min
Feb 5, 9:58 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANCovington, Jefferson Davis, Simpson, Smith47 min
Feb 5, 10:33 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANJasper, Smith42 min
Feb 5, 10:56 PM CSTTornado WarningJANClarke, Jasper, Lauderdale, Newton, Smith55 min
Feb 5, 11:21 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANJefferson Davis, Lamar, Lawrence, Marion39 min
Feb 5, 11:41 PM CSTTornado WarningJANLauderdale34 min
Feb 6, 12:00 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANCovington, Jasper, Jones60 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, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 115 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 2020-02-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 788 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 2020-02-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 172 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
788 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
590 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
172 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
221 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.8
Supercell composite
3.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

436 
WWUS20 KWNS 052348
SEL4  
SPC WW 052348
ALZ000-MSZ000-060600-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 24
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
550 PM CST Wed Feb 5 2020

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Southwest Alabama
  East-central and southeast Mississippi

* Effective this Wednesday afternoon from 550 PM until Midnight
  CST.

* Primary threats include...
  A couple intense tornadoes possible
  Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
  Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible

SUMMARY...Severe thunderstorms with mainly a tornado and damaging
wind threat are most likely across parts of east-central
Mississippi. A more isolated severe threat exists farther
south/southeast across southeast Mississippi and southwest Alabama.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 55 statute miles
east and west of a line from 35 miles south southeast of Pine Belt
MS to 60 miles north northeast of Meridian MS. For a complete
depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU4).

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 22...WW 23...

AVIATION...Tornadoes and 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 450. Mean
storm motion vector 24040.

...Grams

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 5, 11:16 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe and 1 more119 min
Feb 5, 3:47 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay and 28 more118 min
Feb 5, 4:25 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCBibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Colbert and 28 more5 hr
Feb 5, 5:06 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCChoctaw, Clarke, Marengo, Sumter, Washington84 min
Feb 5, 10:28 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Attala, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clay, Copiah and 19 more92 min
Feb 5, 11:49 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCAdams, Amite, Attala, Carroll, Choctaw, Claiborne and 40 more6 hr
Feb 5, 1:19 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCPearl River, Pike, Walthall86 min
Feb 5, 1:39 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Attala, Choctaw, Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin and 12 more96 min
Feb 5, 3:41 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Amite, Attala, Choctaw, Claiborne, Copiah and 26 more64 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2020Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2020Every tornado watch in 2020

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.