Special Marine Warning Issued for Mississippi Sound and Gulf Coastal Waters
This alert is no longer in effect.
NOAA issued it on April 6, 2026, 4 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).
Areazine synthesizes this NWS weather alert directly from NOAA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
The National Weather Service has issued a Special Marine Warning for Mississippi and Louisiana coastal waters until 4:15 AM CDT due to severe thunderstorms.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Special Marine Warning
- Affected area
- Gulf Coast
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS New Orleans
Marine notices apply to named waters or shoreline zones. They may not describe conditions on land, even when the nearest place name is the same.
Record status: historical. It was issued 4 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Gulf Coast.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service in New Orleans has issued a Special Marine Warning for several coastal areas and sounds. This alert was issued at 3:12 AM CDT as severe thunderstorms move through the region, posing an immediate threat to maritime activities.
Affected Areas
The warning covers the following geographic regions:
- Mississippi Sound
- Lake Borgne
- Chandeleur Sound
- Breton Sound
- Coastal waters from Pascagoula, Mississippi, to Stake Island out 20 nautical miles.
Specific locations impacted include Yscloskey, Waveland, Pass Christian, Ship Island, Lake Borgne, Cat Island, Bay St. Louis, Pascagoula, Long Beach, Rigolets, Gulf Park Estates, Port Sulphur, Ocean Springs, Gulfport, and Biloxi.
What You Should Do
Boaters should seek safe harbor immediately and remain there until these storms pass. If caught on open water, stay below deck if possible and keep away from ungrounded metal objects due to frequent lightning. Severe weather should be reported to the Coast Guard or the National Weather Service. Additionally, a Tornado Watch remains in effect until 4:00 AM CDT for southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi.
Expected Conditions
At 3:12 AM CDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from near Bay St. Louis to Montegut, moving east at 35 knots. Hazards identified by buoy observations include:
- Wind: Gusts up to 40 knots.
- Hail: Small hail is possible.
- Water Conditions: High waves and heavy rain.
- Lightning: Frequent and dangerous lightning is occurring.
Small craft could be damaged in briefly higher winds and suddenly higher waves.
Timeline
The Special Marine Warning is effective immediately and is scheduled to expire at 4:15 AM CDT on March 16, 2026.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
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