Alert archive / Tennessee / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 92, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Dec 24, 1988, 2:02 AM CST for Madison County, Tennessee. It was in force for 28 min. 1 report 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
- Dec 24, 1988, 2:02 AM CST (08:02 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 24, 1988, 2:30 AM CST
- In force
- 28 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
County Madison 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 24, 2:15 AM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Madison, 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
Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 133 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 3582 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 81 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 305 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 361 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
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, Dec 23, 11:30 PM CST, 2 hours 32 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 1125 PM CST FRI DEC 23 1988 ...LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES TO DEVELOP ACROSS EASTERN ARKANSAS... AT 1120 PM RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING ACROSS EASTERN ARKANSAS FROM JUST EAST OF JONESBORO SOUTHWEST TO NEAR PINE BLUFF. HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING MAY BE EXPECTED AS THESE STORMS PASS A GIVEN AREA. THESE STORMS WERE #MOVING RAPIDLY NORTHEAST AND WILL BE IN THE MEMPHIS METRO AREA WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR OR SO. THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN INCREASING SO BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER AS THESE STORMS APPROACH AND MONITOR LOCAL TELEVISION OR RADIO FOR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Dec 24, 12:23 AM CST, 1 hour 39 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1220 AM CST SAT DEC 24 1988
...THUNDERSTORM LINE APPROACHING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER...
MEMPHIS WEATHER RADAR LOCATED THE APPROACHING LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS
JUST WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AT 1215 AM THIS MORNING. THE LINE
STRETCHED FROM JUST SOUTH OF DYERSBURG TN TO NEAR OSCEOLA AR...TO NEAR
TURRELL AR...TO JUST EAST OF FOREST CITY AR...TO MARIANNA AR...TO JUST
WEST OF CLARKSDALE MS. THE THUNDERSTORM LINE WAS MOVING EAST AT 30
MPH WHILE INDIVIDUAL THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT
NEARLY 50 MPH.
SMALL HAIL AND STRONG WINDS WERE REPORTED FROM THE STRONGER OF THESE
THUNDERSTORMS AS THEY TRACKED ACROSS EAST ARKANSAS EARLIER TONIGHT AND
MORE HAIL AND WIND ARE POSSIBLE.
WEATHER RADAR FOUND THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS TO BE MOVING ACROSS THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER INTO LAUDERDALE COUNTY TN AT 1215 AM.
STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR LATER W^EATHER BULLETINS...AND BE READY
TO MOVE QUICKLY TO A SAFE PLACE SHOULD THREATENING WEATHER APPROACH.Special weather statement, Dec 24, 1:18 AM CST, 44 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 115 AM CST SAT DEC 24 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 515 IN EFFECT UNTIL 600 AM FOR WEST AND MIDDLE TENNESSEE ALONG WITH ADJACENT SECTIONS OF NORTH MISSISSIPPI... ...LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN WEST TENNESSEE AND NORTHWEST MISSISSIPP... AT 110 AM THIS MORNING THE LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO PUSH RAPIDLY TOWARD THE EAST AND HAD MOVED INTO WEST TENNESSEE AND NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI. THE THUNDERSTORM LINE STRETCHED FROM NEAR DRESDEN IN WEAKLEY COUNTY TENNESSEE TO NEAR BROWNSVILLE TN...TO MEMPHIS...TO TUNICA MS...TO NEAR CLARSKDALE MS. THE THUNDERSTORM LINE WAS MOVING TOWARD THE EAST AT ABOUT 35 MPH. WHILE NO DESTRUCTIVE WEATHER HAS BEEN REPORTED...SMALL HAIL AND HIGH WINDS WERE REPORTED FROM DESOTO COUNTY MS BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND 1 AM. WEATHER RADAR INDICATED THE POTENTIAL FOR SMALL HAIL AND HIGH WINDS WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS OVER SHELBY COUNTY TN...AS WELL. WEATHER RADAR INDICATED STRONGER THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL BE MOVING TOWARD SOMERVILLE TN...JACKSON TN...AND PARIS TN BETWEEN 120 AM AND 200 AM THIS MORNING. THIS IS A DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION. STAY TUNED TO THIS RADIO STQATION AND BE READY TO MOVE QUICKLY TO A SAFE PLACE SHOULD THREATENING WEATHER APPROACH.
Special weather statement, Dec 24, 1:37 AM CST, 25 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUPELO MS 135 AM CST SAT DEC 24 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH #515 IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI. UNTIL 6 AM... AT 120 AM CST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM CLARKSDALE MISSISSIPPI ONTO MEMPHIS TENNESSE EXTENDING TO EAST OF DYERSBURG TENNESSEE. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT AROUND 25 MILES AN HOUR. WITH THE PASSAGE OF THESE STORMS STRONG GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY RAINS... FREQUENT LIGHTENING AND POSSIBLE LARGE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE. PEOPLE IN NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI NEED TO BE WEATHER ALERT AND TAKE THE PROPER ACTION WHEN THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. STAY TUNE TO N0AA WEATHTER RADIO OR THE NEWS MEDIA FOR ANY FURTHER STATEMENTS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 24, 2:47 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | DeSoto | 28 min |
| Dec 24, 2:58 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Marshall | 32 min |
| Dec 24, 3:14 AM CST | Tornado Warning | MEG | Marshall | 31 min |
| Dec 24, 4:28 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Shelby | 47 min |
| Dec 24, 4:28 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Crittenden | 32 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Tennessee, 1988Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1988
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.