Tornadoes · United States · Mississippi · 2008

EF1 tornado, Sandhill to Gallman, Mississippi, September 2, 2008

Name: EF1 tornado, Sandhill to Gallman, Mississippi, September 2, 2008
Start: 2008-09-02T20:17:00.000Z
End: 2008-09-02T20:21:00.000Z
Location: Sandhill to Gallman, Mississippi

From Sandhill to Gallman, this EF1 tornado ran 2.5 miles across Copiah County on September 2, 2008, touching down at 3:17 PM CDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $200,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating: EF1
Date: September 2, 2008
Touchdown: 3:17 PM CDT (20:17 UTC)
Lifted: 3:21 PM CDT (20:21 UTC)
On the ground: 4 minutes
Path length: 2.5 miles (4.1 km)
Path width: 100 yards (91 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $200,000
Crop damage: $100,000
County: Copiah County
Touchdown point: 31.728, -90.330
Lift-off point: 31.765, -90.330
Record number: 0809021417-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Hurricane Gustav was the 2nd major hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season. It took shape as a tropical depression on the morning of August 25th just southeast of Haiti, and rapidly strengthened to hurricane status by the morning of August 26th. After inflicting serious damage on portions of Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba, Gustav entered into the southeastern portion of the Gulf of Mexico and took aim at the Gulf Coast of the United States. Although Gustav attained Category 4 status earlier in its life, Gustav eventually made landfall as a strong Category 2 system at Cocodrie, Louisiana, on September 1st, containing maximum sustained winds around 110 mph. Gustav slowed down and weakened as it continued on its northwest track across southern Louisiana where major damage was inflicted. The pace of the system continued to slow dramatically over the next few days as it turned gradually to the right around a large ridge of high pressure over the Southeast. The remnants of Gustav finally began moving rapidly away from the Lower Mississippi Valley on the 4th as an incoming disturbance deflected it to the northeast. Gustav was responsible for multiple hazardous weather elements across the service area such as tropical storm force winds, tornadoes, flash flooding, and areal flooding from extensive rains.||As the center of Gustav crossed much of southern Louisiana, tropical storm force winds extended into southern Mississippi and portions of east central Louisiana. Sustained winds were between 35 and 45 mph with higher gusts between 70 and 100 mph occurred. Tree and power line damage was extensive across these areas which resulted in widespread power outages, some of which lasted for 3 to 5 days.||As Gustav slowed across central Louisiana, the outer rainbands continued to rotate across much of southern and central Mississippi. This kept those portions of Mississippi in the region which was favorable for tornadoes. Over 3 days, 26 tornadoes were confirmed, all of which were in the EF0 to EF1 range.||As Gustav slowed on September 2nd, flash flooding became a major issue with lasted into the 3rd as the storm slowly lifted to the north and northeast. The first round of heavy rain and flash flooding was across portions of southeast Mississippi as the outer rainbands started to move across the same areas. Total rainfall across this area was between 4 and 7 inches. The heaviest rains fell across areas near and west of the Mississippi River. Some of the Mississippi counties boarding the river received 8 to 11 inches of rain. Areas west of the river across Louisiana and southeast Arkansas saw extreme rainfall. Many locations received between 11 and 20 inches of rain. The highest measured rainfall was at Larto Lake where 21 inches fell. The flooding rains had a tremendous impact on area crops. Crop damage was extensive across Louisiana and western Mississippi. The flooding rains came at a crucial time as most crops will be harvested in September. Crop damage from Gustav will range between 300-400 million dollars.

This tornado began along Beauregard Road and tracked due north for almost 3 miles and crossed Ryan Road. Numerous softwood and hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted along the path. A mobile home and framed home suffered minor roof damage and 2 sheds were heavily damaged. Maximum winds were around 100 mph.

Several large limbs and dead trees downed with a few live trees uprooted on the east side of Lake Copiah. Maximum winds were around 70 mph.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, 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 tornado touched down at Sep 2, 2:40 PM CDT, 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 2, 2:40 PM CDT, 37 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
240 PM CDT TUE SEP 2 2008

...WET PATTERN TO PERSIST THROUGH MOST OF THE WORK WEEK FROM
THE REMNANTS OF GUSTAV...

.DISCUSSION...LATEST SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS REMNANTS OF GUSTAV
SPINNING OVER NORTHWEST LOUISIANA...MOVING QUITE SLOWLY NORTHWEST. SPIRAL
BANDS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS THE REGION FOR THROUGH WEDNESDAY
WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY RAINS AND SOME ISOLATED
TORNADOES. WE HAVE RECEIVED REPORTS OF FLOODING IN SOME OF OUR EAST
AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES.

SHORT RANGE AND MEDIUM RANGE MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW THAT GUSTAV WILL BE SLOW
TO MOVE ITS INFLUENCE AWAY FROM THE REGION. PRECIPITABLE WATER WILL CONTINUE
TO BE AROUND 2 TO 2.5 INCHES THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...WHICH SPELLS FOR MORE
RAINS ON SATURATED SOILS. CONDITIONS WILL STILL FAVOR FOR SOME GUSTY WINDS...
HEAVY RAINS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES THROUGH TONIGHT AS WAVE AFTER WAVE
MOVES ACROSS THE REGION FROM THE WEST AROUND THE REMNANTS OF GUSTAV.
MODELS SHOWS THAT BREEZY CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST ACROSS THE REGION UNTIL
15Z WEDNESDAY. SO WILL HAVE THE WIND ADVISORY FOR THE WESTERN DELTA COUNTIES
AND PARISHES AND A LAKE WIND ADVISORY FOR COUNTIES AROUND THE INTERSTATE 55
CORRIDOR UNTIL 15Z WEDNESDAY. WITH ALL THE TROPICAL MOISTURE AND FLOODING
THAT IS GOING ON WITH THE SPIRAL BANDS WILL EXTEND FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL
7 PM WEDNESDAY EVENING. MODELS SHOWS THAT OUR CHANCES OF RAIN WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH THE END OF THE WORK WEEK. SO HAVE CUT HIGHS SOME FOR WEDNESDAY INTO
THURSDAY AND WENT WITH GUIDANCE ON TONIGHT...WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY
NIGHT. AS FAR AS POPS ARE CONCERN WENT HIGHER THAN MODEL POPS FOR TONIGHT...
WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT...THEN WENT MAV POPS FOR THURSDAY-THURSDAY NIGHT.
/17/

&&

.AVIATION...CONTINUED THE RAIN THROUGH WEDNESDAY ACROSS THE AREA. AT
THIS TIME THE REMNANTS OF GUSTAV WERE NOT MOVING VERY MUCH AND THE
SYSTEM WILL LIKELY STALL JUST WEST OF THE AREA. PERIODS OF HEAVY
RAINFALL WILL CONTINUE TO REDUCE VISIBILITIES ACROSS THE AREA
THROUGH AT LEAST WEDNESDAY MORNING. ALTHOUGH...WINDS WILL CONTINUE
TO GUST OVERNIGHT...STILL EXPECTING PATCHY TO DEVELOP OVERNIGHT...SO
MVFR CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED AT MOST LOCATIONS THROUGH AT LEAST
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. LEFT GUSTS AT MOST LOCATIONS THROUGH TONIGHT.
WINDS IN THE EAST HAVE TAPERED OFF SLIGHTLY...BUT SPEEDS AT
MEI/HBG/GTR SHOULD REMAIN NEAR 15KTS THROUGH WEDNESDAY ALSO./7/

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION...ISSUED AT 343 AM CDT.

LONG TERM...THE LONG TERM AFTER THU SEEMS MOSTLY INSIGNIFICANT BUT
EYES WILL BE TURNING TWRDS THE TROPICS ONCE AGAIN. THE MDLS
GENERALLY AGREE THAT THE REMNANTS OF GUSTAV WILL FINALLY START TO
PULL OUT OF THE ARKLATEX REGION ON THU. AFTER THAT RAIN CHANCES WILL
DECREASE SIGNIFICANTLY BUT THERE SHOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH MOISTURE
IN THE ATMOSPHERE TO HELP GET ISLTD ACTIVITY OFF AND ON. THROUGHOUT
THE EXTENDED I WILL GENERALLY STICK WITH THE GUI VALUES...THE ONLY
EXCEPTION WILL BE WED NIGHT AND THU WHERE I WILL GO ABOUT 10% OR SO
ABV GUI POPS ACROSS THE WEST AND EVEN CNTRL PORTIONS OF THE CWA.

THE MAIN CONCERN IN THE EXTENDED(AT THIS TIME) IS THU. IT LOOKS LIKE
IT WILL BE ANOTHER WET DAY AS A BAND OF SHRA AND ISLTD TSRA DEVELOP.
THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENCES B/T THE MDLS AS TO WHERE THIS WILL N-S
BAND OF RAIN WILL OCCUR BUT IT IS BEGINNING TO LOOK MORE LIKELY
ACROSS THE WRN HALF OF THE CWA. THIS BAND COULD BRING ANOTHER 1-2
INCHES OF RAIN OVER THE NW AND EXACERBATE ANY FLOODING ISSUES THAT
MAY BE OUT THERE FROM TUE AND WED RAINS. WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR
THIS AND IF THE FFA IS EXTENDED INTO WED IT MAY HAVE TO BE EXTENDED
FURTHER INTO THU FOR A FEW AREAS. A LOT WILL DEPEND ON WHAT HAPPENS
OVER THE NEXT 24-36 HRS AND WHERE THIS BAND OF RAIN DEVELOPS ON THU
WHICH IS UNCERTAIN.

AFTER THU WE WILL MOVE INTO WEAK SWRLY FLOW WHICH WILL CONTINUE TO
ALLOW FOR LIGHT SHRA AND MAYBE A FEW TSRA TO DEVELOP EACH DAY BUT
THE RISK OF HEAVY RAIN WILL BE OVER. OF NOTE...EVEN THOUGH TROPICAL
DEPRESSION GUSTAV AND ITS REMNANTS WILL AFFECT US FOR THE NEXT 60
HRS WE WILL STILL NEED TO KEEP AN EYE OUT IN THE ATLANTIC AS
TROPICAL STORM IKE IS FORECAST TO APPROACH THE BAHAMAS AND IT LOOKS
LIKE IT WILL HAVE A SHOT OF GETTING INTO THE GULF. /CAB/

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
JACKSON       73  82  72  86 / 100  93  66  49
MERIDIAN      71  84  71  88 /  96  92  64  49
VICKSBURG     73  80  72  85 / 100  94  69  44
HATTIESBURG   74  84  73  87 /  94  91  67  48
NATCHEZ       75  82  73  83 / 100  93  72  44
GREENVILLE    71  81  71  83 / 100  97  72  45
GREENWOOD     72  81  72  84 / 100  92  68  51

&&

.JAN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MS...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING AT 7 PM FOR
     MSZ034>037-040>045-047>066-072>074.

     WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM CDT WEDNESDAY FOR MSZ018-019-025-034-
     035-040-041.

     LAKE WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM CDT WEDNESDAY FOR MSZ026>028-036-
     037-042>044-047>050-053>056-059>065-072-073.

LA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING AT 7 PM FOR LAZ007>009-015-
     016-023>026.

     WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM CDT WEDNESDAY FOR LAZ007>009-015-016-
     023>026.

AR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING AT 7 PM FOR ARZ074-075.

     WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM CDT WEDNESDAY FOR ARZ074-075.

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 2, 2:07 PM CDT, 1 hour 10 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
207 PM CDT TUE SEP 2 2008

MSZ035>037-040>045-048>052-054>058-062>066-072>074-031915-
HUMPHREYS-HOLMES-ATTALA-ISSAQUENA-SHARKEY-YAZOO-MADISON MS-LEAKE-
NESHOBA-HINDS-RANKIN-SCOTT-NEWTON-LAUDERDALE-COPIAH-SIMPSON-SMITH-
JASPER-CLARKE-LINCOLN-LAWRENCE-JEFFERSON DAVIS-COVINGTON-JONES-
MARION-LAMAR-FORREST-
207 PM CDT TUE SEP 2 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY

THE RISK FOR TORNADOES WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE EVENING.
ROTATING STORMS EMBEDDED IN THE OUTER RAIN BANDS OF GUSTAV MAY LEAD
TO TORNADOES. IN ADDITION...VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CONTINUE ACROSS
THE AREA. RAINFALL AMOUNTS FROM 3 TO 5 INCHES ARE EXPECTED THROUGH
THE EVENING. AN ADDITIONAL 2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE
OVERNIGHT. FLOODING IS LIKELY TO OCCUR...ESPECIALLY IN LOW LYING AND
POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IF FLOODING
OCCURS. WHEN APPROACHING WATER IN A VEHICLE...TURN AROUND DONT DROWN.

A LAKE WIND ADVISORY WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING.
BREEZY WINDS NEAR 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 30 MPH WILL CONTINUE...AS THE
REMNANTS OF GUSTAV STALL OVER NORTHWEST LOUISIANA.

THE RISK OF TORNADOES AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL SHIFT INTO THE
WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA WEDNESDAY...GENERALLY WEST OF INTERSTATE
55. MORE FLOODING IS LIKELY TO OCCUR ACROSS THE AREA WITH AN
ADDITIONAL 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAINFALL POSSIBLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY

THE REMNANTS OF GUSTAV MAY LINGER OVER THE ARKLATEX WEDNESDAY NIGHT
INTO THURSDAY...CONTINUING THE RISK OF TORNADOES AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL
FOR THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA. ADDITIONAL RAIN MAY LEAD TO MORE
FLOODING ACROSS THE AREA.

.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 TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

LAZ007>009-015-016-023>026-MSZ047-053-059>061-031915-
MOREHOUSE-WEST CARROLL-EAST CARROLL-RICHLAND-MADISON LA-
FRANKLIN LA-CATAHOULA-TENSAS-CONCORDIA-WARREN-CLAIBORNE-JEFFERSON-
ADAMS-FRANKLIN MS-
207 PM CDT TUE SEP 2 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST LOUISIANA AND
PORTIONS OF WEST MISSISSIPPI.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY

A WIND ADVISORY WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THE AREA THROUGH WEDNESDAY
MORNING. WINDS NEAR 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH WILL CONTINUE...AS
THE REMNANTS OF GUSTAV SLOWLY MOVE NORTHWEST. IN ADDITION...PERIODS
OF VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA. RAINFALL
AMOUNTS FROM 3 TO 5 INCHES ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THIS EVENING. AN
ADDITIONAL 2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT. FLOODING IS
LIKELY TO OCCUR...ESPECIALLY IN LOW LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. BE
PREPARED TO MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IF FLOODING OCCURS. WHEN
APPROACHING WATER IN A VEHICLE...TURN AROUND DONT DROWN.

THE RISK OF TORNADOES AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL SHIFT INTO THE
WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA WEDNESDAY AS GUSTAV STALLS OVER
NORTHWEST LOUISIANA. ROTATING STORMS EMBEDDED IN THE OUTER RAIN BANDS
MAY LEAD TO TORNADOES. MORE FLOODING IS LIKELY TO OCCUR ACROSS THE
AREA WEDNESDAY...WITH AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAINFALL POSSIBLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY

THE REMNANTS OF GUSTAV MAY LINGER OVER THE ARKLATEX WEDNESDAY NIGHT
INTO THURSDAY...CONTINUING THE RISK OF TORNADOES AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL
INTO THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL MAY LEAD TO
MORE FLOODING ACROSS THE AREA.

.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 TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

ARZ074-075-MSZ018-019-025>034-038-039-046-031915-
ASHLEY-CHICOT-BOLIVAR-SUNFLOWER-LEFLORE-GRENADA-CARROLL-
MONTGOMERY-WEBSTER-CLAY-LOWNDES-CHOCTAW-OKTIBBEHA-WASHINGTON-
WINSTON-NOXUBEE-KEMPER-
207 PM CDT TUE SEP 2 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS AND NORTH
CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY

THE RISK FOR TORNADOES WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE
EVENING...AS GUSTAV SLOWLY MOVES NORTHWEST. ROTATING STORMS EMBEDDED IN THE
OUTER RAIN BANDS MAY LEAD TO TORNADOES. IN ADDITION...VERY HEAVY
RAINFALL WILL REMAIN OVER THE REGION. RAINFALL AMOUNTS FROM 1 TO 3
INCHES ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE EVENING. AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 2 INCHES
OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT. FLASH FLOODING MAY OCCUR...ESPECIALLY
IN LOW LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS.

A LAKE WIND ADVISORY WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THE AREA THROUGH
WEDNESDAY MORNING. GUSTY WINDS NEAR 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 30 MPH
CAN BE EXPECTED.

THE RISK OF TORNADOES AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL SHIFT INTO THE
WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA WEDNESDAY...AS GUSTAV STALLS OVER
NORTHWEST LOUISIANA. ROTATING STORMS EMBEDDED IN THE OUTER RAIN BANDS
MAY LEAD TO TORNADOES. MORE FLOODING IS LIKELY TO OCCUR ACROSS THE
AREA WEDNESDAY...WITH AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAINFALL
POSSIBLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY

THE REMNANTS OF GUSTAV MAY LINGER OVER THE ARKLATEX WEDNESDAY NIGHT
INTO THURSDAY...CONTINUING THE RISK OF TORNADOES AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL
INTO THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL MAY LEAD TO
MORE FLOODING ACROSS THE AREA.

.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 TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT
WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/JAN. THIS INCLUDES THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS
WEATHER OUTLOOK.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Sep 2, 1:30 PM CDT, 1 hour 47 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
130 PM CDT TUE SEP 02 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0100 PM     TROPICAL STORM   BUDE                    31.46N 90.85W
09/02/2008                   FRANKLIN           MS   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            NUMEROUS TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN.

&&

WILSON

Local storm report, Sep 2, 1:37 PM CDT, 1 hour 40 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
137 PM CDT TUE SEP 02 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0220 PM     TORNADO          2 NW OAK VALE           31.46N 89.99W
09/01/2008                   LAWRENCE           MS   PUBLIC

            TREES DOWN ALONG RIVER ROAD. LIKELY CAUSED BY A WEAK
            TORNADO.

&&

GERARD

Local storm report, Sep 2, 1:44 PM CDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
144 PM CDT TUE SEP 02 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0755 AM     TSTM WND DMG     PURVIS                  31.14N 89.41W
09/02/2008                   LAMAR              MS   EMERGENCY MNGR

            TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN.

&&

WILSON

Local storm report, Sep 2, 1:45 PM CDT, 1 hour 32 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
145 PM CDT TUE SEP 02 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0135 PM     FLASH FLOOD      PURVIS                  31.14N 89.41W
09/02/2008                   LAMAR              MS   EMERGENCY MNGR

            MOBILE HOME HAS SUSTAINED WATER DAMAGE.

&&

WILSON

Local storm report, Sep 2, 2:50 PM CDT, 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
250 PM CDT TUE SEP 02 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0249 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     3 ESE BROOKHAVEN        31.57N 90.40W
09/02/2008                   LINCOLN            MS   EMERGENCY MNGR

            REPORTED NEAR HARBOR LANE.

&&

WILSON

Local storm report, Sep 2, 2:53 PM CDT, 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
253 PM CDT TUE SEP 02 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0200 PM     FLASH FLOOD      NEWTON                  32.32N 89.16W
09/02/2008                   NEWTON             MS   EMERGENCY MNGR

            WATER 1-2 FEET DEEP FLOWING ACROSS SEVERAL ROADS IN
            NEWTON COUNTY. REPORTS FROM NEWTON ALERT.

&&

GERARD

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Jackson, MS (KJAN), 12:00Z

8.3 hours before the tornado, 68 km from the path. September 2, 2008.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 935 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: 0 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 865 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 509 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 41 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 196 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 260 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.0
Supercell composite: 7.5
0-3 km lapse rate: 6.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Jackson, MS (KJAN), 00:00Z

3.7 hours after it, 68 km from the path. September 3, 2008.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 1223 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: 0 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1395 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 546 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 31 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 159 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 257 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.8
Supercell composite: 6.1
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Mccomb/Lewis Field (MCB), 64 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Gust (kt)	Pressure (mb)	Weather
00:00 UTC

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Jackson/Brandon,MS radar (KDGX), 68 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:17 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2008 tornado in Mississippi Every tornado in Mississippi since 1950 Warnings in force in Mississippi now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of September 2, 2008

19 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
September 2	3:23 AM CDT	EF0	Smith, MS	0.3	25
September 2	7:40 AM CDT	EF0	Smith, MS	1.0	25
September 2	8:44 AM CDT	EF0	Jones, MS	0.4	30	$80,000
September 2	9:19 AM CDT	EF0	Jones, MS	0.7	25	$5,000
September 2	10:12 AM CDT	EF0	Newton, MS	4.1	40	$13,000
September 2	1:47 PM CDT	EF0	Lincoln, MS	0.3	30
September 2	2:32 PM CDT	EF0	Saint Tammany Parish, LA	0.2	20	$15,000
September 2	2:48 PM CDT	EF1	Covington, MS	5.0	75	$425,000
September 2	3:26 PM CDT	EF0	Yalobusha, MS	0.0	25	$200
September 2	3:45 PM CDT	EF0	Copiah, MS	1.5	40
September 2	4:17 PM CDT	EF0	Lafayette, MS	0.1	25
September 2	5:04 PM CDT	EF0	Lincoln, MS	0.4	30
September 2	5:10 PM CDT	EF0	Avoyelles Parish, LA	0.1	25
September 2	5:15 PM CDT	EF0	Barry, MO	0.3	75	$5,000
September 2	5:40 PM CDT	EF1	Jefferson Parish, LA	1.6	25	$1.7 million
September 2	5:50 PM CDT	EF0	Izard, AR	0.9	60	$25,000
September 2	7:08 PM CDT	EF0	Allen Parish, LA	2.9	50	$30,000
September 2	8:15 PM CDT	EF0	Saint Tammany Parish, LA	0.2	20	$100,000
September 2	10:25 PM CDT	EF1	Catahoula Parish, LA	5.8	75	$600,000

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.