Alert archive / Tennessee / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 4, NWS Morristown, TN

December 23, 1990Blount County, Sevier County, Tennessee

NWS Morristown, TN issued this flash flood warning at Dec 23, 1990, 10:30 AM EST for Blount County, Sevier County, Tennessee. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Dec 23, 1990, 10:30 AM EST (15:30 UTC)
Expired: Dec 23, 1990, 12:30 PM EST
In force: 2 hr
Issued by: NWS Morristown, TN
Area: Whole counties

Counties Blount County, TN, Sevier 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

Athens Municipal, GA (KAHN), launched 12:00Z, 3.5 hours before the alert went out and 202 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 624 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 365 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 381 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTYS 231531
FFWTYS
TNC009-155-231730-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE TN
1030 AM EST SUN DEC 23 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN KNOXVILLE HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1230 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL TENNESSEE
 
   ...BLOUNT COUNTY...SEVIER COUNTY
 
AT 1030 AM EST AREAS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN WERE MOVING THROUGH
BLOUNT AND INTO SEVIER COUNTY. THE HEAVIEST RAIN WAS OCCURRING IN
THE MOUNTAINS.  MANY ROADS IN BLOUNT COUNTY ARE ALREADY EXPERIENCING
FLOODING PROBLEMS AND THE LITTLE RIVER AT TOWNSEND IS AT BANKFULL.
 
IN SEVIER COUNTY RUNOFF FROM THE MOUNTAINS IS THREATNING GATLINBURG.
WITH THE ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL HEADED FOR THAT AREA...FLASH
FLOODING IS IMMENIENT IN THE GATLINBURG AREA.
 
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT.  MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL
ONE...ON FOOT.  TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP 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 23, 5:57 AM EST, 4 hours 33 minutes before

TNZ001-016-VAZ015-016-231055-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BRISTOL TN
555 AM EST SUN DEC 23 1990

 ...SPRING IS ABOUT TO END WITH WINTER HARD ON ITS HEELS...

A STRONG COLD FRONT..NEARING THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU..WILL MOVE
THROUGH THE LOCAL AREA THIS AFTERNOON.

TEMPERATURES IN THE 60S THIS MORNING WILL BE REPLACED WITH MUCH
COLDER AIR LATE THIS AFTERNOON.  WHEN THE FRONT PASSED OVER JACKSON
KENTUCKY EARLIER THIS MORNING THE TEMPERATURE DROPPED 18 DEGREES IN
LESS THAN 30 MINUTES.  IN ADDITION TO FALLING TEMPERATURES..STRONG
GUSTY WINDS WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY THE FRONTAL PASSAGE.

WIND CHILLS TONIGHT WILL SEEM EVEN WORSE BECAUSE OF THE VERY MILD
TEMPERATURES WE HAVE HAD FOR THE PAST WEEK.
                                                                              ANY PLANTS THAT HAVE BEEN PLACED OUTSIDE IN THE MILD WEATHER
SHOULD BE RETURNED TO THE INTERIOR..AND DON'T FORGET ABOUT YOUR
PETS.

DRY WEATHER AND VERY COLD TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE FORECAST FOR
CHRISTMAS DAY.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Morristown, TN issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 23, 2:21 AM EST	Flash Flood Warning	MRX	Cumberland, Morgan, Roane	4 hr
Dec 23, 4:37 AM EST	Flash Flood Warning	MRX	Claiborne, Union	3 hr
Dec 23, 5:32 AM EST	Flash Flood Warning	MRX	Blount, Knox	3 hr
Dec 23, 3:05 PM EST	Flash Flood Warning	MRX	Blount, Sevier	3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Tennessee, 1990 Every 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.