Alert archive / Tennessee / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 7, NWS Morristown, TN

March 5, 1997Anderson County, Campbell County, Union County, Tennessee

NWS Morristown, TN issued this flash flood warning at Mar 5, 1997, 11:41 AM EST for Anderson County, Campbell County, Union County, Tennessee. It was in force for 4 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 5, 1997, 11:41 AM EST (16:41 UTC)
Expired
Mar 5, 1997, 3:45 PM EST
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Morristown, TN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Anderson County, TN, Campbell County, TN, Union County, TN

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 60 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:43 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

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 325 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 1997-03-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 11 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 1997-03-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 81 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
11 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-224 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
672 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
81 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
153 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMRX 051643
FFWMRX
TNC001-013-025-035-049-067-129-151-173-VAC105-052045-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE TRI CITIES TN
1141 AM EST (1041 AM CST) WED MAR 5 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN KNOXVILLE TRI CITIES HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  345 PM EST (245 PM CST)
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN EAST TENNESSEE
 
   ...ANDERSON COUNTY...CAMPBELL COUNTY...CLAIBORNE COUNTY
   ...CUMBERLAND COUNTY...FENTRESS COUNTY...HANCOCK COUNTY
   ...MORGAN COUNTY...SCOTT COUNTY...UNION COUNTY
 
 
IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...LEE COUNTY
 
HEAVY RAINS SHOWERS FALLING OVER A WIDESPREAD AREA ARE CAUSING CREEKS
AND STREAMS TO RISE RAPIDLY. SEVERAL ROADS HAVE BEEN CLOSED AND SOME
BRIDGES ARE UNDER WATER.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION.  HEAVY RAINS WILL CONTINUE TO FALL ON
SATURATED GROUND AND HIGH WATER FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.
 
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AhREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY.  THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO
CROSS SAFELY.  VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE
ABANDONED QUICKLY.  MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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 flash flood warning went out at Mar 5, 9:45 AM EST, 1 hour 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 5, 9:45 AM EST, 1 hour 56 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE/TRI-CITIES TN
935 AM EST WED MAR 5 1997

STILL HAVE AFOS PROBLEMS...SO WILL LIKELY REMAIN UNDER DEDICATED
BACK-UP TO MEM MOST OF THE MRNG...IF NOT ALL DAY.  BNA/MRX RADAR SHOWS
A LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACRS MID-TN INTO
NRN PLATEAU. RADAR SHOWS SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS BOWING OUT WITH
LOCALLY STG WINDS BEING REPORTED. BOTH BNA/MRX VWP SHOWS STG WINDS
ALOFT WITH GRIDDED DATA SHOWING GENERALLY UNIDIRECTIONAL WINDS
ALOFT THIS AFTERNOON...SO EXPECT STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE WILL
REMAIN A THREAT. ALSO...RELATIVELY LOW WBZ ARE CONTRIBUTING TO
PRODUCING LARGE HAIL. WE HAD A REPORT OF NICKEL SIZE HAIL ACRS
NRN FENTRESS COUNTY. WOULD SUGGEST INCLUDING...SOME STORMS MAY
PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS FOR THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS
EAST TENNESSEE AND CHEROKEE AND CLAY COUNTIES.

RADAR IS ALSO SHOWING SOME TRAINING OF CELLS WITH MRX WSR-88D
ESTIMATING UP TO ONE AN HOUR WITH THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS. GRIDDED
DATA SHOWS HIGH PWS (AROUND 1.2 INCHES ~ ABOUT 275 PERCENT ABOVE
NORMAL) EXPECTED ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA...SO FLASH FLOODING A
DEFINITE THREAT FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

HAVE A GOOD DAY...

DH

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 5, 10:44 AM EST, 57 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE/TRI-CITIES TN
1040 AM EST WED MAR 5 1997

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

0856 AM    JUST NORTH OF JAMESTOWN   TN   .88 INCH HAIL
03/05/97   FENTRESS                       NICKEL SIZE HAIL JUST NORTH
                                          OF JAMESTOWN REPORTED TO
                                          WDEB BY THE PUBLIC.

0930 AM    NORTHWEST SCOTT COUNTY    TN   0.75 INCH HAIL
03/05/97   SCOTT                          DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          THE PUBLIC IN NORTHWEST
                                          SCOTT COUNTY

1005 AM    SOUTHERN FENTRESS         TN   0.75 INCH HAIL
03/05/97   FENTRESS                       DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT IN
                                          SOUTHERN FENTRESS COUNTY.

1030 AM    HUNTSVILLE                TN   0.75 INCH HAIL
03/05/97   SCOTT                          DIME SIZE HAIL COVERED THE
                                          GROUND IN HUNTSVILLE. REPORTED
                                          BY COUNTY DISPATCH.
Local storm report, Mar 5, 11:21 AM EST, 20 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE/TRI-CITIES TN
1118 AM EST WED MAR 5 1997

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

1050 AM    CAMPBELL COUNTY           TN   TORNADO
03/05/97   CAMPBELL                       TORNADO ON THE GROUND NEAR
                                          SCOTT/CAMPBELL LINE MOVING
                                          TOWARD CARYVILLE. DAMAGE WAS
                                          OCCURRING. DAMAGE UNKNOWN AT
                                          THIS TIME. REPORTED BY
                                          HIGHWAY PATROL OFFICER.
                                          REPORT RECEIVED AT 1053 AT NWS.

1104 AM    CARYVILLE                 TN   TORNADO
           CAMPBELL                       ALONG I-75 NEAR CARYVILLE.
                                          REPORTED BY 911 DISPATCH.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 5, 8:38 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXFentress52 min
Mar 5, 8:54 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXScott66 min
Mar 5, 9:39 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXCumberland, Fentress66 min
Mar 5, 9:59 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXMorgan61 min
Mar 5, 10:04 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXScott56 min
Mar 5, 10:21 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXCampbell69 min
Mar 5, 10:47 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXClaiborne, Union58 min
Mar 5, 10:53 AM ESTTornado WarningMRXCampbell37 min
Mar 5, 11:30 AM ESTTornado WarningMRXAnderson, Campbell, Morgan, Scott60 min
Mar 5, 11:35 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXHancock55 min
Mar 5, 11:41 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningMRXCumberland, Fentress, Morgan, Scott4 hr
Mar 5, 11:41 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningMRXClaiborne, Hancock4 hr
Mar 5, 11:59 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningMRXClaiborne, Union46 min
Mar 5, 11:59 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXClaiborne, Union46 min
Mar 5, 12:49 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningMRXGrainger, Hawkins4 hr
Mar 5, 2:10 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXRhea, Roane35 min
Mar 5, 2:36 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXKnox, Loudon39 min
Mar 5, 2:54 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXBlount, Sevier36 min
Mar 5, 3:29 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXCocke, Greene61 min
Mar 5, 4:09 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXCarter51 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Tennessee, 1997Every flash flood warning in 1997

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.