Alert archive / Tennessee / Flash Flood Warnings in 1991
Flash Flood Warning 21, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this flash flood warning at May 12, 1991, 2:37 PM CDT for Fayette County, Shelby County, Tennessee; Benton County, Marshall County, Mississippi. It was in force for 3 hr.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 12, 1991, 2:37 PM CDT (19:37 UTC)
- Expired
- May 12, 1991, 5:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Benton County, MS, Marshall County, MS, Fayette County, TN, Shelby County, TN
The nearest sounding before it
Paducah/Barkley, KY (KPAH), launched 12:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 242 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
- 915 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -22 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 669 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 53 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 108 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KMEM 121937 FFWMEM MSC009-093-TNC047-157-122245- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 237 PM CDT SUN MAY 12 1991 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 545 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN NORTH CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI ...BENTON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI ...MARSHALL COUNTY IN WEST TENNESSEE ...FAYETTE COUNTY...SHELBY COUNTY AT 230 PM WEATHER RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN COVERED MOST OF SHELBY COUNTY TENNESSEE...ALONG WITH MARSHALL AND BENTON COUNTIES OF NORTH MISSISSIPPI. THE STORMS WERE MOVING VERY SLOWLY TOWARD THE SOUTHEAST AND WERE PRODUCING RAINFALL IN EXCESS OF TWO INCHES PER HOUR. MANY ROADS IN BOTH SHELBY AND FAYETTE COUNTY TENNESSEE WERE COVERED WITH WATER...SOME IMPASSABLE...AND WATER WAS STARTING TO THREATEN BUSINESSES AND HOMES IN EAST SHELBY AND WEST FAYETTE COUNTIES. THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO WEAKEN AS THE AFTERNOON WANES...BUT IT WILL TAKE A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME BEFORE THE WATER RUNS INTO STREAMS AND DRAINAGES. BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL IF YOU WILL BE DRIVING. HIGH WINDS AND THE VERY HEAVY RAIN MAKES VISIBILITY DIFFICULT AND YOU MIGHT DRIVE INTO WATER THAT IS DEEP ENOUGH TO DROWN YOU. A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS IMMINENT. MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT ATTEMPT T\O 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.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 12, 12:01 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Lauderdale | 29 min |
| May 12, 1:36 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | MEG | Fayette | 2 hr |
| May 12, 3:01 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | MEG | Hardeman, Haywood | 3 hr |
| May 12, 7:23 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Benton, Marshall | 67 min |
| May 12, 12:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Itawamba, Monroe | 25 min |
| May 12, 4:13 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | MEG | Pontotoc | 4 hr |
| May 12, 4:54 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | MEG | Lee, Monroe | 4 hr |
Nearby
Flash Flood Warnings in Tennessee, 1991Flash Flood Warnings in Mississippi, 1991Every flash flood warning in 1991
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.