Alert archive / Tennessee / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 12, NWS Morristown, TN

March 16, 1996Claiborne County, Grainger County, Tennessee

NWS Morristown, TN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 16, 1996, 7:26 PM EST for Claiborne County, Grainger County, Tennessee. It was in force for 64 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: Mar 16, 1996, 7:26 PM EST (00:26 UTC)
Expired: Mar 16, 1996, 8:30 PM EST
In force: 64 min
Issued by: NWS Morristown, TN
Area: Whole counties

Counties Claiborne County, TN, Grainger County, TN

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 29 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:29 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
Mar 16, 8:15 PM EST	Thunderstorm Wind	New Tazewell, TN

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.

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 272 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 139 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -111 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1089 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 85 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 25 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 147 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: -0.0
Supercell composite: -0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Morristown, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Mar 16, 2:59 PM EST, 4 hours 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 16, 2:59 PM EST, 4 hours 27 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE/TRI-CITIES TN
245 PM EST SAT MAR 16 1996

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER MUCH OF THE FA TODAY WILL CONTINUE INTO
THE EVENING HOURS.  CURRENT WW OVER PLATEAU AND EXTREME WESTERN PORTION
OF THE VALLEY THROUGH 8 PM WILL LIKELY EXTEND EASTWARD INTO THE REMAINDER
OF THE VALLEY TONIGHT AS DYNAMICS SHIFT EASTWARD.  HOPEFULLY MOVING
INTO THE EVENING HOURS WILL TAKE SOME OF THE PUNCH OUT HOWEVER.

CURRENT FORECAST POPS AND TEMPS REASONABLE HOWEVER WORDING MIGHT NEED
REVISING TO CONVEY POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE CONVECTION.

THE GOOD NEWS FOR SUNDAY IS THAT INTENSE DEEP CONVECTION TO SOUTH OF FA
WILL "CUTOFF" THE GULF AND THEREFORE THE BIGGEST THzREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER.
EVEN WITH THIS CUTOFF...SHOWERS AND SOME TSTORMS ARE STILL POSSIBLE.

MONDAY SHOULD SEE THINGS BEGINNING TO QUIET DOWN SOMEWHAT, BUT STILL
A HIGH LIKELYHOOD OF PRECIPITATION.  FWC POPS AND TEMPS LOOK REASONABLE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 16, 6:48 PM EST, 38 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE/TRI-CITIES TN
640 PM EST SAT MAR 16 1996

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

545 PM     ALLARDT                   TN   0.75 INCH HAIL
03/16/96   FENTRESS

602 PM     JAMESTOWN                 TN   0.75 INCH HAIL
03/16/96   FENTRESS

545 PM     ALLARDT                   TN   TORNADO
03/16/96   FENTRESS                       ROOF TAKEN OFF STORE AND
                                          HOME DAMAGED.  NUMEROUS
                                          TREES BLOWN DOWN

615 PM     5 E ONEIDA                TN   TORNADO
03/16/96   SCOTT                          TORNADO TOUCHDOWN IN EAST
                                          PART OF COUNTY AND DESTROYED
                                          A TRAILER

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 16, 7:37 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Scott	68 min
Mar 16, 7:40 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Hancock, Hawkins	65 min
Mar 16, 9:01 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Hamblen	59 min
Mar 16, 10:27 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Unicoi	33 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Tennessee, 1996 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1996

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.