Alert archive / Tennessee / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1986

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 20, NWS Atlanta, GA

April 20, 1986Bradley County, McMinn County, Tennessee

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 20, 1986, 8:10 PM EST for Bradley County, McMinn County, Tennessee. It was in force for 50 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Apr 20, 1986, 8:10 PM EST (01:10 UTC)
Expired
Apr 20, 1986, 9:00 PM EST
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Bradley County, TN, McMinn County, TN

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 20, 8:20 PM ESTThunderstorm Wind 0Mcminn, TN
Apr 20, 8:45 PM ESTThunderstorm Wind 0Bradley, TN

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 192 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1986-04-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 35 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1986-04-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -45 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
35 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-39 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
761 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-45 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
8 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.0
Supercell composite
-0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 20, 7:43 PM EST, 27 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATHENS GA
730 PM EST SUN APR 20 1986

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF
NORTHEAST GEORGIA UNTIL MIDNIGHT...DAWSON...LUMPKIN...RABUN...TOWNS...
HABERSHAM...UNION...HALL AND WHITE.

AT 730 PM LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORM  WAS LOCATED IN NORTHEAST
ALABAMA AND NORTHEAST TENNESSEE. THIS LINE WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MPH.

ALSO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDSHOWERS WERE OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF
NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND THE WEST CAROLINAS. ALSO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSHOWERS WERE OVER PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA BETWEEN COLUMBUS
AND ATLANTA.  THE THUNDERSHOWERS WITH THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL WERE LOCATED
JUST SOUTH AND NORTHEAST OF LAGRANGE. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 35 MPH.

FURTHER STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS NEEDED.
Special weather statement, Apr 20, 8:02 PM EST, 8 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
800 PM EST SUN APR 20 1986

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 104 REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR
NORTHWEST GEORGIA UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST.

A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING INTO NORTHWEST GEORGIA
AT THIS HOUR. THE STORMS STRETCHED FROM MURRAY COUNTY IN EXTREME NORTH
GEORGIA TO THE WESTERN EDGE OF FLOYD COUNTY.

THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT NEAR 40 MPH.

RESIDENTS OF NORTHWEST GEORGIA SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THESE STORMS AND
TAKE COVER IF NECESSARY.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Atlanta, GA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 20, 7:38 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCHamilton, Marion60 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Tennessee, 1986Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1986

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.