Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1995
Tornado Warning 18, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1995, 1:45 PM CDT for Fayette County, Tennessee. It was in force for 30 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 18, 1995, 1:45 PM CDT (18:45 UTC)
- Expired
- May 18, 1995, 2:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 30 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
County Fayette County, TN
The radar
The Memphis radar (KNQA), 45 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:45 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 1:55 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Eastern Fayette, TN | A small tornado briefly touched down knocking down a few trees. |
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
Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 64 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
- 2951 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 552 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 70 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 90 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 205 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 2.0
- Supercell composite
- 7.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KMEM 181843 TORMEM TNC047-181915- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 145 PM CDT THU MAY 18 1995 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 215 PM CDT FOR PERSONS IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...... IN WEST TENNESSEE ...EASTERN FAYETTE COUNTY AT 140 PM DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO OVER EASTERN FAYETTE COUNTY .. EAST OF SOMERVILLE ... AND THERE HAVE BEEN PUBLIC REPORTS OF A TORNADO TOUCHDOWN WITH THIS STORM. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. CARS ARE EASILY TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING. IF NO STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT. &
The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2:19 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Shelby | 41 min |
| May 18, 3:32 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Crockett, Gibson | 28 min |
| May 18, 3:32 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Haywood | 28 min |
| May 18, 3:43 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Fayette | 47 min |
| May 18, 9:11 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Carroll, Madison | 49 min |
| May 18, 9:38 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Dyer, Lauderdale | 52 min |
| May 18, 1:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Fayette, Hardeman | 30 min |
| May 18, 1:40 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Hardeman | 35 min |
| May 18, 1:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Lake | 40 min |
| May 18, 1:56 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Chester, McNairy | 34 min |
| May 18, 2:04 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Lake, Obion | 26 min |
| May 18, 2:29 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Chester, Hardin, McNairy | 31 min |
| May 18, 2:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Decatur, Henderson | 26 min |
| May 18, 2:46 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Decatur, Hardin | 29 min |
| May 18, 2:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Obion | 31 min |
| May 18, 3:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Weakley | 39 min |
| May 18, 3:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Hardin, McNairy | 43 min |
| May 18, 4:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Henry | 41 min |
| May 18, 4:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Benton | 32 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.