[Tropical] Hurricane Local Statement

[EMWIN Server]

WTUS84 KJAN 292037
HLSJAN
MSZ025>033-036>039-042>066-072>074-300100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
HURRICANE KATRINA LOCAL STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
335 PM CDT MON AUG 29 2005

...HURRICANE KATRINA CAUSING SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE ACROSS SOUTHERN
MISSISSIPPI...

...110 MPH WIND GUST REPORTED IN LAUREL AT 200 PM...

...NUMEROUS REPORTS OF WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH IN THE LAST
SEVERAL HOURS...

...CORE OF STRONGEST WINDS PUSHING ALONG AND NORTH OF THE HIGHWAY 84
CORRIDOR...

...SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE REPORTED ALONG THE HIGHWAY 98 CORRIDOR...

...TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS BEING EXPERIENCED ALONG THE INTERSTATE
20 CORRIDOR...

...AREAS AFFECTED...
THIS STATEMENT APPLIES TO PEOPLE IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN MISSISSIPPI.

...WATCHES/WARNINGS...
INLAND HURRICANE WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR MARION...LAMAR...
FORREST...LINCOLN...LAWRENCE...JEFFERSON DAVIS...COVINGTON...
JONES...COPIAH...SIMPSON...SMITH...JASPER...CLARKE...RANKIN...
HINDS...MADISON...SCOTT...NEWTON...LAUDERDALE...LEAKE...NESHOBA...
ATTALA...WINSTON...NOXUBEE...CHOCTAW...OKTIBBEHA... LOWNDES...
WEBSTER...CLAY AND KEMPER COUNTIES.

INLAND TROPICAL STORM WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR ADAMS...
FRANKLIN...JEFFERSON...CLAIBORNE...GRENADA...CARROLL...
MONTGOMERY...HOLMES AND YAZOO AND WARREN COUNTIES.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN
MISSISSIPPI.

A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM FOR MUCH OF EASTERN
MISSISSIPPI.

NUMEROUS FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS ARE NOW IN EFFECT ALONG AND SOUTH OF
HIGHWAY 84.

...STORM INFORMATION...
AT 2 PM CDT...THE EYE OF HURRICANE KATRINA WAS LOCATED NEAR
LATITUDE 31.4 NORTH...LONGITUDE 89.6 WEST. THIS POSITION IS ABOUT 20
MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF HATTIESBURG. KATRINA IS MOVING TOWARD THE
NORTH NEAR 18 MPH...AND THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH
TONIGHT. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 95 MPH...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. THIS MAKES KATRINA A CATEGORY ONE STORM ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON
SCALE. THE STORM WILL CONTINUE TO WEAKEN AS THE CENTER MOVES FURTHER
INLAND...BUT KATRINA IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN A FORMIDABLE HURRICANE AS
IT MOVES ACROSS EASTERN MISSISSIPPI.

A SURFACE PRESSURE OF 28.06 INCHES OR 951 MILLIBARS WAS REPORTED
AROUND 2 PM CDT IN MARION COUNTY.

...PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
WHILE THE HURRICANE WILL WEAKEN AS IT CONTINUES TO MOVE INLAND THIS
EVENING...THE STRONGEST CORE OF HURRICANE FORCE WINDS IS POUNDING
THE HIGHWAY 84 AND INTERSTATE 59 CORRIDORS. KATRINA WILL ALSO REMAIN
A FORMIDABLE HURRICANE AS IT APPROACHES THE INTERSTATE 20 CORRIDOR
BY LATE AFTERNOON. KEEP IN MIND...KATRINA WILL STILL BE A HURRICANE
WELL INTO CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI...AND A STRONG TROPICAL STORM AS IT
MOVES INTO NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI.

THE SERIOUSNESS OF THIS SITUATION CANNOT BE OVEREMPHASIZED!  WHILE
HURRICANE KATRINA HAS BEGUN TO WEAKEN...IT IS STILL A VERY DANGEROUS
HURRICANE. IT IS LIKELY THAT KATRINA WILL CONTINUE TO CAUSE
EXTENSIVE DAMAGE ACROSS PARTS OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN MISSISSIPPI
THROUGH MONDAY EVENING.

THIS IS A POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING SITUATION...DO NOT TAKE IT
LIGHTLY! PEOPLE RESIDING IN HOMES THAT ARE NOT WELL CONSTRUCTED
SHOULD HAVE MOVED TO A SAFER ALTERNATIVE LOCATION TO RIDE THE
PASSAGE OF THE STORM OUT...PARTICULARLY OVER AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH
OF INTERSTATE 20 AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 55 WHERE THE VERY STRONGEST
WINDS COULD OCCUR. PLEASE FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS OF STATE...COUNTY
AND LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS WITH REGARD TO EVACUATIONS
AND PREPAREDNESS ACTIVITIES.

...WIND IMPACTS...
KATRINA HAS ALREADY DONE SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL DAMAGE ALONG THE
HIGHWAY 98 CORRIDOR AND REPORTS OF TREE AND POWER LINE DAMAGE ARE
WIDESPREAD. RECENTLY...KATRINA HAS POUNDED THE HIGHWAY 84 CORRIDOR
IN THE VICINITY OF LAUREL AND WAYNESBORO. A WIND GUST TO 110 MPH WAS
REPORTED NEAR LAUREL AT 2 PM BEFORE THE ANEMOMETER BECAME
INOPERABLE. SUSTAINED WINDS BETWEEN 60 AND 80 MPH...WITH GUSTS UP TO
100 MPH WILL STILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON OR EARLY
EVENING.

THIS WOULD CAUSE EXTENSIVE DAMAGE...LEVELING TREES...POWER LINES AND
POLES...AND CAUSING EXTENSIVE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. WIDESPREAD DAMAGE
HAS ALREADY BEEN REPORTED ACROSS SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI THIS MORNING.
MUCH OF THE AREA ALONG AND SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 98 AND EAST OF
INTERSTATE 55 IS WITHOUT POWER...AND THERE HAS BEEN SUBSTANTIAL
DAMAGE TO TREES AND STRUCTURES.

IN THE REMAINDER OF THE HURRICANE WARNING AREA ALONG AND SOUTH OF
INTERSTATE 20... WINDS OF 70 TO 80 MPH...WITH HIGHER GUSTS...WILL
OCCUR OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. IN ADDITION TO DOWNING THOUSANDS
OF TREES AND CAUSING EXTENSIVE POWER OUTAGES...THESE WINDS COULD
ALSO CAUSE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO BUILDINGS AND DESTROY LESS WELL
CONSTRUCTED STRUCTURES.

IN THE HURRICANE WARNING AREA NORTH OF INTERSTATE 20...WINDS OF 50
TO 75 MPH...WITH HIGHER GUSTS...WILL OCCUR...WITH THE STRONGEST
WINDS ALONG AND EAST OF THE PATH OF THE HURRICANE. IN THE TROPICAL
STORM WARNING AREA...WINDS OF 40 TO 60 MPH WITH GUSTS TO HURRICANE
FORCE MAY OCCUR. WIND DAMAGE COULD BE EXTENSIVE IN THESE AREAS AS
WELL...WITH WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES AND DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES
POSSIBLE.

...INLAND FLOODING IMPACTS...
TORRENTIAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES...WITH LOCALIZED
GREATER AMOUNTS...WILL OCCUR IN THE AREA ALONG AND TO THE EAST OF
THE TRACK. THIS WILL LIKELY CAUSE URBAN FLOODING AND FLASH FLOODING
OF SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS. RIVER FLOODING IS EXPECTED TO BE
MINIMAL TO MODERATE...UNLESS HEAVIER RAINFALL THAN FORECAST OCCURS.
THE RIVER FLOODING IS MAINLY CONFINED TO THE PEARL AND PASCAGOULA
BASINS AT THIS TIME. NUMEROUS FLASH FLOOD WARNING ARE ALREADY IN
EFFECT ACROSS SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI TODAY...MAINLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF
HIGHWAY 84. AS OF 330 PM...RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES HAVE
BEEN COMMON ALONG AND SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 84.

...INLAND TORNADO IMPACTS...
THE RISK OF TORNADOES WILL COVER MUCH OF EASTERN AND CENTRAL
MISSISSIPPI DURING THE MIDDAY AND EVENING HOURS AS KATRINA CONTINUES
TO MOVES INLAND. AN ENHANCED RISK OF TORNADOES WILL LIKELY EXIST
ALONG AND EAST OF A HATTIESBURG TO MERIDIAN TO COLUMBUS LINE. A
TORNADO WAS REPORTED IN PEARL RIVER COUNTY EARLIER THIS MORNING
...AND A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS REPORTED IN LAMAR COUNTY AROUND 1230
PM.

...NEXT UPDATE...
THE NEXT UPDATE WILL BE ISSUED BY 8 PM CDT.

$$

CBD










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