Alert archive / Tennessee / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 149, NWS Atlanta, GA

May 3, 1990Bradley County, Tennessee

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 3, 1990, 9:20 PM EDT for Bradley County, Tennessee. It was in force for 40 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
May 3, 1990, 9:20 PM EDT (01:20 UTC)
Expired
May 3, 1990, 10:00 PM EDT
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

County Bradley 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
May 3, 9:40 PM EDTHail 0.75Bradley, 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, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 191 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 1990-05-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1990-05-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 28 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
NaN m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
28 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
110 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCHA 040121 RRA
SVRCHA
GAC295-TNC011-040200-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHATTANOOGA TENNESSEE
920 PM EDT THU MAY 3 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHATTANOOGA TENNESSEE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
 
IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA
 
   ...WALKER COUNTY
 
 
IN SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE
 
   ...BRADLEY COUNTY
 
AT 915 PM THE CHATTANOOGA WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM IN THE SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF WALKER COUNTY IN
NORTHWEST GEORGIA. THIS STORM IS MOVING TO THE NORTHEST
TOWARD LAFAYETTE.
 
ALSO A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IS INDICATED BY RADAR ON THE
HAMILTON/BRADLEY COUNTY LINE IN SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE. HAM
RADIO OPERATORS REPORT 1 INCH HAIL NEAR APISON...IN THE
EASTERN SECTIONS OF HAMILTON COUNTY ABOUT 20 MINUTES
AGO. THIS THUNDERSTORM IS MOVING INTO BRADLEY COUNTY
TOWARD CLEVELAND.
 
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DO@N'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

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, May 3, 7:41 PM EDT, 1 hour 39 minutes before
GAZ001-003-040200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA  GA
740 PM EDT THU MAY 3 1990

AT 735 PM EDT RADAR SHOWED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN EXTREME
SOUTH CHEROKEE COUNTY NEAR WOODSTOCK. THIS STORM MAY BE
PRODUCING HAIL AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS AS IT MOVES NORTH AT
30 MPH.

PEOPLE IN CHEROKEE COUNTY SHOULD BE PREPARED TO MOVE INDOORS
OR TO SAFE SHELTER IF APPROACHED BY THIS STORM.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 3, 9:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHamilton67 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Tennessee, 1990Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1990

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.