Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Watches in 2026

Tornado Watch 2

January 9, 202615 parishes in Louisiana; 30 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 9, 2026, 7:46 PM CST for 15 parishes in Louisiana; 30 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 13 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jan 9, 2026, 7:46 PM CST (01:46 UTC)
Expired
Jan 10, 2026, 8:30 AM CST
In force
13 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 45 counties

Avoyelles Parish, LA, Caldwell Parish, LA, Catahoula Parish, LA, Concordia Parish, LA, Franklin Parish, LA, Grant Parish, LA, LaSalle Parish, LA, Madison Parish, LA, Natchitoches Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Richland Parish, LA, Sabine Parish, LA, Tensas Parish, LA, Vernon Parish, LA, Winn Parish, LA, Adams County, MS, Amite County, MS, Claiborne County, MS, Clarke County, MS, Copiah County, MS, Covington County, MS, Forrest County, MS, Franklin County, MS, Greene County, MS, Hinds County, MS, Jasper County, MS, Jefferson County, MS, Jefferson Davis County, MS, Jones County, MS, Lamar County, MS, Lauderdale County, MS, Lawrence County, MS, Lincoln County, MS, Marion County, MS, Newton County, MS, Perry County, MS, Pike County, MS, Rankin County, MS, Scott County, MS, Simpson County, MS, Smith County, MS, Walthall County, MS, Warren County, MS, Wayne County, MS, Wilkinson County, MS

The radar

The Ft Polk radar (KPOE), 150 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:50 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
50%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
40%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 9, 8:17 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningJANJefferson Davis, Lamar, Marion97 min
Jan 9, 8:24 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANFranklin, Madison, Richland53 min
Jan 9, 9:14 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANEast Carroll, Madison30 min
Jan 10, 12:02 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVBienville, De Soto, Natchitoches, Red River43 min
Jan 10, 12:05 AM CSTTornado WarningSHVBienville, Natchitoches, Red River25 min
Jan 10, 12:28 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVBienville, Caldwell, Jackson, Lincoln, Natchitoches, Ouachita and 1 more47 min
Jan 10, 1:37 AM CSTTornado WarningJANCopiah, Lawrence, Lincoln, Simpson43 min
Jan 10, 2:32 AM CSTTornado WarningLIXAmite23 min
Jan 10, 2:37 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningSHVCaldwell, Grant, LaSalle, Winn3 hr
Jan 10, 2:44 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningLIXAmite, Pike, Wilkinson3 hr
Jan 10, 3:19 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningLIXAmite, Pike3 hr
Jan 10, 3:51 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningJANCovington, Franklin, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Lincoln, Simpson3 hr
Jan 10, 3:53 AM CSTTornado WarningJANCovington, Jasper, Jones, Smith67 min
Jan 10, 3:54 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANKemper, Lauderdale34 min
Jan 10, 4:17 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANCovington, Jefferson Davis, Jones58 min
Jan 10, 4:23 AM CSTTornado WarningJANCovington, Jefferson Davis, Jones67 min
Jan 10, 5:01 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningLIXAmite, Pike72 min
Jan 10, 5:11 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningLIXPike, Walthall64 min
Jan 10, 5:12 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANClarke, Jasper, Jones, Smith63 min
Jan 10, 5:24 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningLIXAmite, Pike, Walthall118 min
Jan 10, 5:35 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningJANClarke, Covington, Jasper, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar and 4 more2 hr
Jan 10, 5:48 AM CSTTornado WarningJANClarke42 min
Jan 10, 7:31 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningJANForrest, Jones, Lamar, Marion2 hr

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, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 154 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 2026-01-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 173 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 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 2026-01-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -47 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
173 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-100 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
763 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
72 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
69 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.0
Supercell composite
-0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

542 
WWUS20 KWNS 100144
SEL2  
SPC WW 100144
LAZ000-MSZ000-101000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 2
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
745 PM CST Fri Jan 9 2026

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Nothern and Central Louisiana
  Central and Southern Mississippi

* Effective this Friday night and Saturday morning from 745 PM
  until 400 AM CST.

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

SUMMARY...A mix of clusters and supercells moving east-northeastward
should pose a threat for a few tornadoes and scattered damaging
winds this evening into early Saturday morning.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 50 statute miles
north and south of a line from 35 miles west southwest of
Natchitoches LA to 35 miles south southeast of Meridian MS. For a
complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline
update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU2).

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.

&&

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 23030.

...Gleason

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 9, 6:40 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia and 22 more2 hr
Jan 9, 11:07 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Catahoula and 23 more2 hr
Jan 10, 2:04 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClarke, Copiah, Covington, Jasper, Jefferson Davis, Jones and 11 more116 min
Jan 10, 3:49 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCAmite, Clarke, Covington, Forrest, Greene, Jasper and 14 more9 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2026Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2026Every tornado watch in 2026

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.