Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Memphis, TN

May 18, 1995Chester County, Hardin County, McNairy County, Tennessee

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1995, 2:29 PM CDT for Chester County, Hardin County, McNairy County, Tennessee. It was in force for 31 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 18, 1995, 2:29 PM CDT (19:29 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 1995, 3:00 PM CDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Chester County, TN, Hardin County, TN, McNairy County, TN

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 129 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:30 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

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 145 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, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 1995-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2951 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 1995-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 90 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMEM 181929
TORMEM
TNC023-071-109-182000-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
229 PM CDT THU MAY 18 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  300 PM CDT
FOR PERSONS IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...S...
 
IN WEST TENNESSEE
 
   ...SOUTHERN CHESTER COUNTY...NORTHERN HARDIN COUNTY
   ...NORTHERN MCNAIRY COUNTY
 
AT 227 PM...DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO SHOW A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A
TORNADO ALONG THE MCNAIRY-CHESTER COUNTY LINE BETWEEN HENDERSON AND
ADAMSVILLE.
 
MOVING EAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR...THE TORNADO WILL MOVE INTO NORTHERN
HARDIN COUNTY BY 245. THE TOWN OF SALTILLO IS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM.
A TORNADO WAS REPORTED NEAR HICKORY CORNER AT 209 PM.
 
 
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
 
 
 
&

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 2:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGShelby41 min
May 18, 3:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCrockett, Gibson28 min
May 18, 3:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHaywood28 min
May 18, 3:43 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGFayette47 min
May 18, 9:11 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCarroll, Madison49 min
May 18, 9:38 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGDyer, Lauderdale52 min
May 18, 1:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGFayette, Hardeman30 min
May 18, 1:40 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGHardeman35 min
May 18, 1:45 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGFayette30 min
May 18, 1:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLake40 min
May 18, 1:56 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGChester, McNairy34 min
May 18, 2:04 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGLake, Obion26 min
May 18, 2:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGDecatur, Henderson26 min
May 18, 2:46 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGDecatur, Hardin29 min
May 18, 2:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGObion31 min
May 18, 3:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGWeakley39 min
May 18, 3:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHardin, McNairy43 min
May 18, 4:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHenry41 min
May 18, 4:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGBenton32 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.