Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 22, NWS Memphis, TN

May 18, 1995Decatur County, Hardin County, Tennessee

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1995, 2:46 PM CDT for Decatur County, Hardin County, Tennessee. It was in force for 29 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 18, 1995, 2:46 PM CDT (19:46 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 1995, 3:15 PM CDT
In force
29 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Decatur County, TN, Hardin County, TN

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 157 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:45 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 161 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 12:00Z on 1995-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1151 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 12:00Z on 1995-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 178 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1151 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
674 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
178 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
189 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.3
Supercell composite
4.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMEM 181946
TORMEM
TNC039-071-182015-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
246 PM CDT THU MAY 18 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  315 PM CDT
FOR PERSONS IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...S...
 
IN WEST TENNESSEE
 
   ...SOUTHERN DECATUR COUNTY...NORTHERN HARDIN COUNTY
 
AT 245 PM...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE
TORNADO NEAR SARDIS IN EXTREME SOUTHERN HENDERSON COUNTY. MOVING EAST AT
45 MILES AN HOUR THIS STORM WILL THREATEN NORTHERN HARDIN AND SOUTHERN
DECATUR WITH DAMAGING HAIL AND DESTRUCTIVE WIND BETWEEN 245 AND 315 PM.
 
GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED NEAR ENVILLE AT 235 PM.
 
THE STORM WILL TRACK BATH SPRINGS BY 315.
 
 
 
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, 2:29 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGChester, Hardin, McNairy31 min
May 18, 2:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGDecatur, Henderson26 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.