Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Atlanta, GA

May 18, 1995McMinn County, Tennessee

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1995, 10:31 PM EDT for McMinn County, Tennessee. It was in force for 29 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 18, 1995, 10:31 PM EDT (02:31 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 1995, 11:00 PM EDT
In force
29 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

County McMinn County, TN

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 137 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:32 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 195 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 1995-05-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1185 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 1995-05-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 371 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
1185 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-47 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
942 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
371 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
460 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.0
Supercell composite
17.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCHA 190231 RRA
TORCHA
TNC107-190300-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHATTANOOGA TN
1031 PM EDT THU MAY 18 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHATTANOOGA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1100 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE
 
   ...MCMINN COUNTY
 
AT 1037PM EDT MORRISTOWN WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO IN
EXTREME SOUTHEAST MCMINN MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT AROUND
30 MPH.
 
 
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.  U\SE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 8:05 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHamilton25 min
May 18, 8:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBledsoe, Rhea49 min
May 18, 8:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMcMinn, Meigs38 min
May 18, 8:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBradley31 min
May 18, 9:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGrundy, Marion, Sequatchie26 min
May 18, 9:46 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCVan Buren29 min
May 18, 9:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHamilton, Meigs, Rhea32 min
May 18, 10:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBledsoe36 min
May 18, 10:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMcMinn, Meigs, Rhea50 min
May 18, 11:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHamilton36 min
May 18, 11:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBradley, McMinn, Meigs32 min
May 18, 11:57 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCPolk33 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Tennessee, 1995Every tornado warning in 1995Tornadoes in 1995

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.