Alert archive / Mississippi / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 147

May 4, 202122 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 4, 2021, 12:18 PM CDT for 22 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 4, 2021, 12:18 PM CDT (17:18 UTC)
Expired
May 4, 2021, 4:48 PM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 22 counties

Alcorn County, MS, Benton County, MS, Calhoun County, MS, Chickasaw County, MS, Coahoma County, MS, DeSoto County, MS, Itawamba County, MS, Lafayette County, MS, Lee County, MS, Marshall County, MS, Monroe County, MS, Panola County, MS, Pontotoc County, MS, Prentiss County, MS, Quitman County, MS, Tallahatchie County, MS, Tate County, MS, Tippah County, MS, Tishomingo County, MS, Tunica County, MS, Union County, MS, Yalobusha County, MS

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 90 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:19 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
20%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
10%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
30%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
30%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
60%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 4, 1:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLafayette, Marshall, Panola, Tate24 min
May 4, 1:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGBenton, Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Tate, Union33 min
May 4, 2:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGAlcorn, Benton, Tippah30 min
May 4, 2:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGItawamba, Lee, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Tishomingo, Union26 min
May 4, 2:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCalhoun, Chickasaw47 min
May 4, 3:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGAlcorn, Benton, Tippah19 min
May 4, 3:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGItawamba, Lee, Prentiss, Tishomingo, Union16 min
May 4, 3:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGItawamba, Lee28 min
May 4, 3:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGChickasaw, Itawamba, Lee, Monroe57 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

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 41 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 2021-05-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 10 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 2021-05-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 62 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
10 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-373 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1101 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
62 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
100 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

777 
WWUS20 KWNS 041714
SEL7  
SPC WW 041714
ARZ000-MSZ000-042100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 147
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
1215 PM CDT Tue May 4 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Southeast Arkansas
  Northern Mississippi

* Effective this Tuesday afternoon from 1215 PM until 400 PM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Isolated very large hail events to 2 inches in diameter possible
  Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
  A tornado or two possible

SUMMARY...Clusters along the northern periphery of a broader QLCS
should pose a risk for isolated large hail and damaging winds, along
with a brief tornado across northern Mississippi through
mid-afternoon.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 45
statute miles north and south of a line from 50 miles southwest of
Memphis TN to 30 miles east of Tupelo MS. For a complete depiction
of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS
WOU7).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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 142...WW 144...WW
145...WW 146...

AVIATION...A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
2 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A
few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
24035.

...Grams

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 4, 8:33 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Amite, Claiborne, Clarke, Copiah, Covington and 31 more117 min
May 4, 9:03 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClay, Lowndes, Monroe, Oktibbeha117 min
May 4, 9:18 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAttala, Carroll, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Copiah and 26 more7 hr
May 4, 10:52 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAdams, Amite, Bolivar, Claiborne, Franklin, Grenada and 9 more7 hr
May 4, 11:58 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlcorn, Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Coahoma, DeSoto and 13 more2 hr
May 4, 12:16 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin, Hinds, Issaquena and 4 more89 min
May 4, 2:17 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAttala, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clarke, Copiah, Covington and 26 more88 min
May 4, 3:03 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCChickasaw, Choctaw, Clay, Itawamba, Kemper, Lowndes and 5 more117 min
May 4, 3:31 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCClarke, Covington, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock and 22 more6 hr
May 4, 4:46 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClarke, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison and 9 more89 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Mississippi, 2021Every severe thunderstorm watch in 2021

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.