Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 6, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at May 3, 1988, 6:05 PM CDT for Gibson County, Weakley County, Tennessee. It was in force for 25 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
- May 3, 1988, 6:05 PM CDT (23:05 UTC)
- Expired
- May 3, 1988, 6:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 25 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Gibson County, TN, Weakley 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 6:08 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Gibson, TN | |
| May 3, 6:10 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Weakley, 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 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 200 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
- 2546 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 17 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 21 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 7 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 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, May 3, 3:08 PM CDT, 2 hours 57 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 305 PM CDT TUE MAY 3 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 95 IS IN EFFECT FOR A SMALL PART OF EXTREME WEST TENNESSEE AND MOST OF NORTHEAST ARKANSAS UNTIL 9 PM CDT TONIGHT... AT 305 PM NO SEVERE WEATHER HAS BEEN REPORTED DURING THE PAST HALF HOUR. WEATHER RADAR CONTINUED TO SHOW STRONG THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IN NORTHEAST ARKANSAS...OVER CRAIGHEAD...GREENE...AND CLAY COUNTIES. THE STRONGER OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WAS SHOWN BY RADAR TO BE OVER SOUTHERN GREENE JUST SOUTHWEST OF PARAGOULD...AND OVER SOUTHERN CLAY NEAR BOYDSVILLE. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. IF YOU LIVE IN EAST ARKANSAS! OR WEST TENNESSEE...YOU SHOULD STAY ALERT TO LOCAL WEATHER DEVELOPMENTS AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A SAFE PLACE SHOULD THREATENING WEATHER APPROACH. .
Special weather statement, May 3, 4:00 PM CDT, 2 hours 5 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 400 PM CDT TUE MAY 3 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 95 IS IN EFFECT FOR A SMALL PART OF EXTREME WEST TENNESSEE AND MOST OF NORTHEAST ARKANSAS UNTIL 9 PM CDT TONIGHT... AT 400 PM NO SEVERE WEATHER HAS BEEN REPORTED DURING THE PAST HALF HOUR. WEATHER RADAR CONTINUED TO SHOW STRONG THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IN EXTREME NORTHEAST ARKANSAS...OVER CRAIGHEAD...GREENE...AND CLAY COUNTIES AND IN THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL OVER DUNKLIN COUNTY. THE STRONGER OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WAS SHOWN BY RADAR TO BE ALONG THE CLAY...DUNKLIN COUNTY LINE WEST OF KENNETT MISSOURI. PEA SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE PAST HALF HOUR. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. IF YOU LIVE IN NORTHEAST ARKANSAS...NORTHWEST TENNESSEE OR THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL STAY ALERT TO LOCAL WEATHER DEVELOPMENTS AND BE READY TO MOVE QUICKLY TO A SAFE PLACEi SHOULD THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 4:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Lake | 25 min |
| May 3, 4:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Dyer | 34 min |
| May 3, 5:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Obion | 27 min |
| May 3, 5:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Tipton | 29 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.