5 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Jackson, MS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 31, 3:50 AM CST, 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 350 AM CST TUE DEC 31 2002 MAIN CONCERNS CENTER ON FLOODING/SEVERE WEATHER FOR THIS MORNING THEN AS COLD MID LEVEL CORE CROSSES SRN MS...A POTENTIAL FOR ADDITIONAL TSRA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. ALL RAIN SHOULD END LATE TONIGHT...ONLY AREAS W OF MS RIVER BEFORE MIDNIGHT. LATEST SATELLITE/SFC DATA ANALYSIS INDICATES MID/UPPER LOW SPINNING OVER SE TX AND HEADED EWD ALONG I-10. STRONG UVV ASSOCIATED WITH ONGOING LINEAR MCS PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN OVER WRN MS AND ERN HALF LA. LATEST TOR WW 816 IN EFFECT UNTIL 14Z FOR SERN MS AS LINE BOWS THROUGH. EARLIER REPORT OF 68KT GUST AT KBTR HAS BEEN THE MOST IMPRESSIVE OF THE NIGHT. EXPECT SOME SLOWING OF THE MID/UPPER LOW AS IT TEMPORARILY DETACHES FROM NRN BRANCH FLOW. SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL WILL DIMINISH AS SQUALL LINE ALONG HIGHWAY 49 PASSES THROUGH THIS MORNING HOWEVER THE COLD MID LEVEL CORE WILL MOVE INTO SRN MS THIS AFTERNOON FOR A CHANCE AT SOME HAIL-PRODUCING TSRA. WILL KEEP MENTION OF TSRA SRN SECTIONS THROUGH TODAY. WILL ALSO HOLD ON TO FFA SINCE SEVERAL RIVERS REMAIN IN FLOOD AND RAIN WILL BE FALLING. ALL RAIN SHOULD END BEHIND DEPARTING LOW TONIGHT WITH AMOUNTS GENERALLY LESS THAN ONE QUARTER INCH AFTER 03Z. EXPECT BACK EDGE OF RAIN SHIELD WILL REACH ALONG THE MS RIVER AT MIDNIGHT FOR NEW YEAR ARRIVAL...THIS EDGE WILL MOVE E TO AL BORDER BY 6AM 01/01/03. SO MUCH FOR MOST OF THE FIREWORKS PLANS. NEXT UPSTREAM SYSTEM PASSES N OF THE REGION THROUGH THE OZARKS INTO THE OH VALLEY WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. EVEN COLDER MID LEVEL AIR ASSOCIATED WITH THIS TROUGH AS LARGE AREA OF -27C AT 500MB SWEEPS ACROSS THE AREA. DRYING AIRMASS WILL RESUME AFTER THIS WAVE PASSES AND COLD ADVECTION INCREASES IN LOW LEVELS FOR THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY. LITTLE CHANGE TO EXTENDED...LATEST GFS NOT TOO CONSISTENT WITH PREVIOUS RUN ON WHETHER DAYS 6 & 7 WILL BE DRY OR WET. MORE OF A NWLY FLOW REGIME AS ADVERTISED BY UKMET/ECMWF SHOULD LEND TOWARD A DRIER PERIOD FOR THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK. PRELIM NUMBERS... JAN 062/044/054/038/048 +61-- MEI 064/045/056/037/050 +71-1 .JAN... AR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT TODAY ARZ074-075. LA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT TODAY LAZ007>009-015-016-023>026. MS...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT TODAY MSZ018-019-025>066-072>074.
ARZ074-075-LAZ007>009-015-016-023>026-MSZ018-019-025>066-072>074- 311200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 118 PM CST MON DEC 30 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI... NORTHEAST LOUISIANA...AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... ...THUNDERSTORMS... THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND WILL BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD AND INTENSE OVERNIGHT. ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE...GENERALLY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20. THE MOST UNSTABLE AIR WILL REMAIN ALONG AND SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 84...FROM NEAR ARCHIE LOUISIANA...TO NATCHEZ MISSISSIPPI...TO BROOKHAVEN...TO LAUREL. DAMAGING STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY RAIN CAN BE EXPECTED. ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO WARM...MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR OVER THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY OVERNIGHT. AS THE FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE REGION...AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL ALSO PUSH EAST INTO THE AREA TONIGHT. WITH INCREASED INSTABILITY AND SUPPORTIVE WINDS PROFILES...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS COULD DEVELOP OVERNIGHT. ...FLOODING... LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL MAY INDUCE PONDING OVER LOW LYING AREAS IN ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY...RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY WEST OF INTERSTATE 55. SOUTH WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH ABUNDANT MOISTURE INTO THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT...AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. SHOULD THE SYSTEM SLOW DOWN...THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAINFALL WILL INCREASE. SOILS ARE ALREADY SATURATED FROM PREVIOUS EVENTS. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL COULD RAPIDLY RUN OFF AND PONDING MAY OCCUR...ESPECIALLY ON ROADWAYS...IN CULVERTS AND OTHER LOW LYING AREAS. WITH ON-GOING RIVER FLOODING...SOME MINOR FLOODING OF SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS MAY ALSO OCCUR. TRAVELERS SHOULD EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION AND SHOULD REMAIN ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... ...DAYS TWO AND THREE... THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON...MAINLY OVER EASTERN MISSISSIPPI. AS THE COLD FRONT AND UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM PUSH ACROSS THE REGION...A FEW STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE. DAMAGING WINDS... DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE THE MAIN WEATHER CONCERNS. BY LATE TUESDAY...MOST OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL HAVE DIMINISHED. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED WEDNESDAY. ...DAYS FOUR THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... THE ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS...AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IN SUPPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER OPERATIONS...MAY BE NEEDED LATER THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES ON THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER EVENT. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/JAN. THIS INCLUDES THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK.
LAZ007>009-015-016-023>026-310653- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 1238 AM CST TUE DEC 31 2002 ...THE TORNADO WATCH 814 HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR NORTHEAST PORTIONS OF LOUISIANA... THE FOLLOWING PARISHES ARE NO LONGER IN THE TORNADO WATCH MOREHOUSE...WEST CARROLL...EAST CARROLL...RICHLAND...MADISON... FRANKLIN...TENSAS...CATAHOULA...CONCORDIA CRAVEN
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds resulted in minor damage to the city barn and toppled a few trees across State Road 42.
A few trees were blown down across State Road 13 near it's intersection with State Road 28.
Thunderstorm winds blew down a few trees in the area.
A tornado touched down about one-half mile southeast of the intersection of U.S. Highway 49W and State Road 3 around 4:10 AM. The tornado then moved northeast approximately 1.5 miles over western sections of the city. The worst damage along the path occurred at the Shady Lane apartment complex, where a roof was ripped from one of the buildings. In addition, several windows were shattered in an adjacent building, with flying debris resulting in damage to other buildings. One female resident of the apartment complex was treated and released from an area hospital with a shoulder injury. The tornado lifted just north of Shady Drive.
A few trees were blown down across the road in the area.
Several large trees and a few powerlines were blown down in the city.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Mississippi in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Mississippi, 2002Warnings in Mississippi, December 2002
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5324278, 5324279, 5324309, 5324310, 5324311, 5324312.