Alert archive / Tennessee / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 239, NWS Morristown, TN

July 22, 1997Washington County, Tennessee

NWS Morristown, TN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 22, 1997, 5:20 PM EDT for Washington County, Tennessee. It was in force for 55 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: Jul 22, 1997, 5:20 PM EDT (21:20 UTC)
Expired: Jul 22, 1997, 6:15 PM EDT
In force: 55 min
Issued by: NWS Morristown, TN
Area: Whole counties

County Washington County, TN

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:24 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
Jul 22, 5:45 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Telford, TN	Numerous trees down near Telford community.

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

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 234 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: 2100 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -26 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 648 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 34 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 21 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 222121 RRA
SVRMRX
TNC179-222215-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE TRI CITIES TN
520 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN KNOXVILLE TRI CITIES HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  615 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN EAST TENNESSEE
 
   ...WASHINGTON COUNTY
 
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN WESTERN WASHINGTON...NORTHEAST OF TELFORD...
WILL MOVE SLOWLY NORTHEAST...TOWARD JONESBORO. A SPOTTER REPORTS
A LOWERING CLOUD BASE...WHICH IS OFTEN A PRECURSOR TO A TORNADO.  THIS
IS A VERY DANGEROUS STORM.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER IN A
STRONG BUILDING.  DAMA6GING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...
AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
STAY INSIDE AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

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 Jul 22, 2:51 PM EDT, 2 hours 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 22, 2:51 PM EDT, 2 hours 29 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE/TRI-CITIES TN
250 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 1997

TON...REMNANTS OF DANNY MOVG SLOWLY NE AND SHLD BE OVR NE GA BY 12Z.
FFG VALUES HIGH. HWVR...W/SLOW MOVMT OF SYSTEM...TRAIN ECHOES...AND
PLENTY OF DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE...WOULD RECMD FFA FOR SE TN/SRN MTS
TON INTO MIDDAY WED.  WOULD FCST 80 PCT SE TN/SRN MTS W/WORDING FOR
PSBL HVY RAIN...70 PCT RMNDR OF MTS/CNTRL & NRN VALLEY...60 PCT
PLATEAU.

WED...DANNY SHLD MOVE TO NE SC BY WED NGT. FLOW WL GRAD VEER DURING
THE DAY GRAD ENDING HEAVY RAIN THREAT. WOULD CONT HIGH POPS. 80 PCT SE
TN/SRN MTS...70 PCT CNTRL/NRN MTS...60 PCT CNTRL & NRN VALLEY...50 PCT
PLATEAU.

WED NGT...DANNY CONTS TO SHIFT NE AND AWAY FM CWA. SFC TROF AND COLD
FRNT SWINGING IN FM THE WEST W/AMPLIFYING UPPER FLOW. STILL LOTS OF
MOISTURE TO WORK WITH.  WOULD KEEP IN CHC POPS FOR CWA UNDER MSTLY
CLDY SKIES.

THU...FRONT & TROF GRAD MAKING THEIR WAY THRU STATE. CHC ^POPS SHLD
COVER IT. SKIES PTLY SUNNY.

PREFER FAN TEMPS THRU WED NGT. WOULD USE FWC/FAN BLEND FOR THURS AT
TYS.

HSA

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 21, 8:27 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Washington	63 min
Jul 22, 4:37 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Greene	68 min
Jul 22, 5:42 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Greene	48 min
Jul 22, 7:15 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	MRX	Hawkins, Sullivan	3 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Tennessee, 1997 Every severe thunderstorm 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.