Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 39, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Dec 27, 1988, 5:52 PM CST for Tipton County, Tennessee. It was in force for 68 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 27, 1988, 5:52 PM CST (23:52 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 27, 1988, 7:00 PM CST
- In force
- 68 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
County Tipton 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 27, 6:10 PM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Tipton, 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 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 76 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
- 3576 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 66 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 273 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 312 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KMEM 272352
TORMEM
TNC167-280100-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
552 PM CST TUE DEC 27 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 700 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN WEST TENNESSEE
...TIPTON
THE THUNDERSTORM THAT PRODUCED FUNNEL CLOUDS AND TORNADOES IN EAST
ARKANSAS AND SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE IS MOVING INTO TIPTON COUNTY.
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETzS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS.What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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 27, 3:23 PM CST, 2 hours 29 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 320 PM CST TUE DEC 27 1988 AT MID AFTERNOON RAIN AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE INCREASING OVER NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. ONE AREA EXTENDS FROM NEAR JONESBORO SOUTHWESTWARD TOWARD LITTLE ROCK. THE SECOND AREA OF RAIN EXTENDS FROM NEAR WILSON ARKANSAS SOUTHWESTWARD TO NEAR FORREST CITY ARKANSAS. THE RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING IN ADVANCE OF A FRONTAL SYSTEM THAT HAS REACHED CENTRAL ARKANSAS. THE RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH SOME THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLY BECOMING SEVERE IN THE MID SOUTH. PEOPLE IN THE MID SOUTH SHOULD LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS FROM THE WEATHER SERVICE. IF SEVERE WEATHER SHHOULD THREATEN YOU MOVE TO A SAFE PLACE IMMEDIATELY.
Special weather statement, Dec 27, 5:02 PM CST, 50 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
500 PM CST TUE DEC 27 1988
...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 518 IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS AND
NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI UNTIL 10 PM TONIGHT...
AT 430 ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN AND SCATTERED
PATCHES OF LIGHT RAIN COVERED NORTHEAST AND EAST ARKANSAS...THE
MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...EXTREME NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI AND WEST TENNESSEE.
THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL WAS LOCATED BETWEEN DES ARC AND MARKED TREE IN
EAST ARKANSAS.
THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 60 MILES AN HOUR.
HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS.
DRIVERS ACROSS THE MID-SOUTH SHOULD USE CAUTION AND ALLOW EXTRA TIME
FOR TRAVEL...SINCE THE HEAVY RAIN MAY REDUCE VISIBILITY.
THE POSSIBLITY FOR HIGH WINDS...HEAVY RAINFALL...HAIL...AND POSSIBLE
TORNADOES WILL EXIST THROUGH THE MID-SOUTH UNTIL THE ASSOCIATED
FRONTAL SYSTEM MOVES RTHROUGH THE AREA.
YOU SHOULD STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR ANY FURTHER WEATHER
UPDATES OR WARNINGS FOR OUR AREA.The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 27, 5:23 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MEG | Shelby | 67 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Tennessee, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes 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.