Alert archive / Tennessee / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990
Flash Flood Warning 19, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this flash flood warning at Dec 21, 1990, 5:05 PM CST for Gibson County, Tennessee. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Dec 21, 1990, 5:05 PM CST (23:05 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 21, 1990, 9:00 PM CST
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
County Gibson 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
Paducah/Barkley, KY (KPAH), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 121 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
- 46 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -32 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 559 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 64 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 166 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 176 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 212305 FFWMEM TNC053-220300- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 505 PM CST FRI DEC 21 1990 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 900 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN WEST TENNESSEE ...GIBSON COUNTY HEAVY RAINS UP TO 4 INCHES HAVE FALLEN THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND LAST NIGHT CAUSING SOME ROADS TO BE UNDER WATER IN THE HUMBOLDT AREA. SOME FAMILIES HAVE BEEN EVACUATED FROM THEIR HOMES. ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINS ARE LIKELY TONIGHT COMPOUNDING THE PROBLEMS. BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GCREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this flash flood 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 21, 1:45 PM CST, 3 hours 20 minutes before
MSZ004-005-007-212045-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUPELO MS
145 PM CST FRI DEC 21 1990
...TORNADO WATCH NO. 784 AND 785 HAVE BEEN ISUUED FOR ALL OF NORTH
MISSISSIPPI UNTIL 9PM THIS EVENING...
AT 245 PM...TUPELO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR WAS INDICATING
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY OVER PARTS OF CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI AND
WEST TENNESSEE.
THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED JUST EAST OF GREENWOOD
MISSISSIPPI AND JUST NORTH OF BROWNSVILLE TENNESSEE. THESE
THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.
THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINS...FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS NAD SMALL HAIL.
ANYONE LIVING IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD REMAIN
WEATHER ALERT AND TAKE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS SHOULD THREATENING
WEATHER APPROACH.
NNNNSpecial weather statement, Dec 21, 2:02 PM CST, 3 hours 3 minutes before
TNZ011-012-013-014-015-MSZ001-004-ARZ012-013-014-212100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 203 PM CST FRI DEC 21 1990 ...TORNADO WATCH AND FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR THE MID-SOUTH AREA... THE MID-SOUTH SHOULD BE BRACING FOR TURBULENT WEATHER IN THE NEXT 24 H HEAVY RAINS FROM THIS MORNING HAVE SATURATED THE AREA AND MORE IS EXPECTED AS A SLOW MOVING ARCTIC COLD FRONT APPROACHES. AT MID-AFTERNOON RADAR AND SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATED A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN FROM JUST SOUTH OF MEMPHIS SOUTHWEST ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO NEAR HELENA. EXPECT SOME MORE FLOODING...LIGHTNING...STRONG WINDS... AND HAIL WITH THESE STORMS. TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE UNTIL THE COLD FRONT ARRIVES LATER TONIGHT. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL TV STATION FOR LATEST UPDATES. PLEASE REPORT ANY SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OR YOUR >LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT.
Special weather statement, Dec 21, 2:05 PM CST, 3 hours before
TNZ011-012-013-014-015-MSZ001-004-ARZ012-013-014-212100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 203 PM CST FRI DEC 21 1990 ...TORNADO WATCH AND FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR THE MID-SOUTH AREA... MID-SOUTHERNERS SHOULD BE BRACING FOR TURBULENT WEATHER. HEAVY RAINS FROM THIS MORNING HAVE SATURATED THE AREA AND MORE IS EXPECTED AS A SLOW MOVING ARCTIC COLD FRONT APPROACHES. AT MID-AFTERNOON RADAR AND SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATED A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN FROM JUST SOUTH OF MEMPHIS SOUTHWEST ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO NEAR HELENA. EXPECT SOME MORE FLOODING...LIGHTNING...STRONG WINDS... AND HAIL WITH THESE STORMS. TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE UNTIL THE COLD FRONT ARRIVES LATER TONIGHT. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL TV STATION FOR LATEST UPDATES. PLEASE REPORT ANY SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OR YOUR LOCACL POLICE DEPARTMENT.
Special weather statement, Dec 21, 2:55 PM CST, 2 hours 10 minutes before
MSZ004-005-007-212200-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUPELO MS
255 PM CST FRI DEC 21 1990
...TORNADO WATCH NO. 784 AND 785 WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL 9PM THIS
EVENING FOR ALL OF NORTH MISSISSIPPI...
AT 240 PM CST...TUPELO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR WAS INDICATING A
POSSIBLE TORNADO OVER EXTREME EASTERN GRENADA COUNTY AND EXTREME
SOUTHWESTERN CALHOUN COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI.
THIS STORM WAS MOVING FTO THE NORTH NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR.
ANYONE LIVING IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD BECOME WEATHER
ALERT AS THIS IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS STORM. PRECAUTIONS SHOULD BE
MADE NOW TO ENSURE SAFETY.
NNNNSpecial weather statement, Dec 21, 3:35 PM CST, 1 hour 30 minutes before
MSZ004-005-007-212230- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUPELO MS 335 PM CST FRI DEC 21 1990 ...TORNADO WATCH NO. 784 IN EFFECT UNTIL 9PM THIS EVENING.... ...TORNADO WATCH NO. 785 IN EFFECT UNTIL 9PM THIS EVENING.... AT 330 PM CST...TUPELO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR WAS INDICATING A RATHER LARGE AREA OF THUNDERSTORM AND RAINSHOWER ACTIVITY OVER MUCH OF NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI AND OVER EXTREME SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE AND EXTREME NORTHEAST ARKANSAS. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WAS INDICATED OVER AN AREA FROM NORTH YAZOO COUNTY EXTENDING TO THE NORTH TO SOUTHERN LEFLORE COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI AND ALSO FROM ST. FRANCIS COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ARKANSAS EXTENDING TO THE NORTHEAST TO DYERSBURG TENNESSEE. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTH NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR. THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS...FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL. ANYONE LIVING IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BECOME WEATHER ALERT AND TAKE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS SHOULF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACH. NNNN
Special weather statement, Dec 21, 4:41 PM CST, 24 minutes before
MSZ004-005-007-212345- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUPELO MS 441 PM CST FRI DEC 21 1990 ....TORNADO WATCH NO. 784 IN EFFECT UNTIL 9PM THIS EVENING.... ....TORNADO WATCH NO. 785 IN EFFECT UNTIL 9PM THIS EVENING.... AT 435 PM CST...TUPELO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR WAS INDICATING A RATHER LARGE AREA OF THUNDERSTORM AND RAINSHOWER ACTIVITY OVER ALL OF NORTH MISSISSIPPI EXCEPT FOR THE EXTREME NORTHEASTERN SECTION OF THE STATE. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WAS LOCATED OVER NORTHEASTERN CARROL COUNTY AND SOUTH CENTRAL GRENADA COUNTY. VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WAS ALSO INDICATED OVER THE HOLMES...ATTALA AND YAZOO COUNTY AREA. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR. THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS...FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...STRONG THUNDERSTORM WINDS...AND SMALL HAIL. ANYONE LIVING IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF( THESE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BECOME WEATHER ALERT BECAUSE THESE THUNDERSTORMS ALREADY HAVE A DANGEROUS HISTORY. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES TAKE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS TO ENSURE SAFETY. NNNN
The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 21, 2:49 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | MEG | Fayette, Haywood, Shelby, Tipton | 4 hr |
| Dec 21, 2:49 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | MEG | Crockett, Madison | 4 hr |
Nearby
Flash Flood Warnings in Tennessee, 1990Every flash flood 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.