Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Nashville, TN

November 4, 1988Giles County, Marshall County, Tennessee

NWS Nashville, TN issued this tornado warning at Nov 4, 1988, 6:09 PM CST for Giles County, Marshall County, Tennessee. It was in force for 36 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Nov 4, 1988, 6:09 PM CST (00:09 UTC)
Expired
Nov 4, 1988, 6:45 PM CST
In force
36 min
Issued by
NWS Nashville, TN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Giles County, TN, Marshall County, TN

The radar

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

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 92 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 1988-11-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 133 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 1988-11-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 377 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
133 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-65 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
688 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
377 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
408 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KBNA 050011
TORBNA
TNC055-117-050045-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
609 PM CST FRI NOV 4 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  645 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE
          ...NORTHEASTERN GILES...MARSHALL
 
THE PUBLIC REPORTS A FUNNEL CLOUD 22 MILES NORTH OF THE
ALABAMA-TENNESSEE STATE LINE ALONG INTERSTATE 65. THIS WOULD BE IN
NORTHEAST GILES COUNTY TENNESSEE. THE STORM IS MOVING NORTHEAST
AND WILL ENTER MARSHALL COUNTY IN THE NEXT HALF HOUR.
 
 
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 BLANKETS...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

Local storm report, Nov 4, 4:32 PM CST, 1 hour 37 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE, TN
431 PM CST FRI NOV 04 1988

415 PM CST...WAYNE COUNTY SHERRIFF REPORTS TREES DOWN AND A
             FUNNEL CLOUD SIGHTED NEAR WAYNESBORO TENN
Local storm report, Nov 4, 4:53 PM CST, 1 hour 16 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE, TN
452 PM CST FRI NOV 04 1988

435 PM CST...MONTGOMERY COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTS ROOF BLOWN OFF AN
             UNKNOWN STRUCTURE ALONG HWY 48 SOUTH OF CLARKSVI-LLE.
Local storm report, Nov 4, 5:48 PM CST, 21 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE, TN
546 PM CST FRI NOV 04 1988

520 PM CST...ROBERTSON COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTS A LARGE TREE DOWN
             AND THE ROOF BLOWN OFF OF A SMALL METAL BUILDINGi
             IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE COUNTY...LOCATIONS SKETCHY

545 PM CST...METRO NASHVILLE POLICE REPORT NUMEROUS TREES DOWN IN
             THE SHELBY PARK AREA OF NASHVILLE.
Local storm report, Nov 4, 5:56 PM CST, 13 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE, TN
554 PM CST FRI NOV 04 1988

545 PM CST...SUMNER COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTS TREES BLOWN DOWN
             AROUND THE COUNTY...NEAR DRAKES CREEK AND CARTER
   t          RIDGE ROADS

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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.