Alert archive / Tennessee / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 46, NWS Morristown, TN

March 3, 1997Jefferson County, Knox County, Tennessee

NWS Morristown, TN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 3, 1997, 7:13 AM EST for Jefferson County, Knox County, Tennessee. It was in force for 32 min. 2 reports 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 3, 1997, 7:13 AM EST (12:13 UTC)
Expired: Mar 3, 1997, 7:45 AM EST
In force: 32 min
Issued by: NWS Morristown, TN
Area: Whole counties

Counties Jefferson County, TN, Knox County, TN

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 31 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:05 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 3, 7:25 AM EST	Thunderstorm Wind	East Part Of County, TN
Mar 3, 7:30 AM EST	Thunderstorm Wind	Countywide, 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 12:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 262 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: 219 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -26 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 686 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 61 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 72 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

263 
WUUS01 KMRX 031213 RRA
SVRMRX
TNC089-093-031245-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE TRI CITIES TN
713 AM EST MON MAR 3 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN KNOXVILLE TRI CITIES HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  745 AM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN EAST TENNESSEE
 
   ...JEFFERSON COUNTY...EASTERN KNOX COUNTY
 
DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ALONG THE JEFFERSON-KNOX
COUNTY LINE MOVING NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 60 MPH. IT WILL REACH THE TOWNS OF
NEW MARKET AND JEFFERSON CITY AT ABOUT 730 AM.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DONT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

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 3, 2:34 AM EST, 4 hours 39 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 3, 2:34 AM EST, 4 hours 39 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE/TRI-CITIES TN
225 AM EST MON MAR 3 1997

POWERFUL S/W TROF WL LIFT OUT QUICKLY NE TWD OH VLY BY LATE TODAY AS
SFC LOW TRACKS ENE THRU E TN INTO WRN NC BY THIS EVE.  KMRX 88D SHOWS
MUCH OF THE MDT RAINS HAVE SHIFTED N ACRS THE PLATEAU AND NRN VLY
COUNTIES EARLY THIS AM.  LINE OF TSRA ADVANCING E THRU NRN AL AND
BELIEVE BEST THREAT FOR SVR WX WL BE OVR EXTREME SE TN (CHA VCNTY)
TWD 10-11Z TIMEFRAME AS LOW PULLS NE INTO SRN MD TN.  LKLY-CAT POPS
FOR E TN TODAY HOWEVER...MODELS SHOW MEAN RH AXIS SHIFTING QUICKLY
N ACRS THE FA DRNG THE AM HRS W/ PRECIP TAPERING OFF FM S TO N BY
MD AFTERNOON SO ZONES CAN BE WORDED W/ "MORNING SHRA/TSRA" FOR THE
SRN VLY/SRN MTNS W/ MAINLY MORNING RAIN FOR PLATEAU AND CNTRL VLY.
LOOKS LIKE PRECIP WON'T TAPER OFF OVR THE NRN VLY/NRN MTNS UNTIL
MD-LATE AFTERNOON HOURS.  FF WORDING STILL LOOKS GOOD IN CURRENT
ZONE PACKAGE AS WATER WL BE DRAINING OFF THE HIGH TERRAIN ALL THRU
THE MORNING HOURS MAINTAINING A THREAT FOR FLOODING.

GREATEST AMOUNTS WL OCCUR ON THE PLATEAU AND OVR THE NRN/CNTRL VLY AND
NRN MTN ZONES.

MODELS SHOW MD/UPR LVLS DRY OUT SIGNIFICANTLY BEHIND DEPARTING S/W
THIS AFTERNOON HOWEVER...LOW LVLS REMAIN SATURATED.  LOOKS LIKE SOME
RAYS MAY BREAK THRU THE LOW OVC THIS AFTERNOON REVEALING SOME SUNSHINE
ACRS MAINLY THE SRN VLY/SRN MTN ZONES.  HOWEVER...BKN-OVC LOW CLOUDS WL
REMAIN ACRS MUCH OF THE REMAINDER OF THE FA THRU TONITE KEEPING SKIES
MOSTLY CLOUDY.  PARTLY SUNNY LOOKS GOOD FOR TUE AS SOME LOW LVL MOISTURE
REMAINS AS LOW LVL SW FLOW CONTINUES ARND 85H RIDGE OVR SERN STATES.

GUIDANCE TEMPS LOOK GOOD AND ACCEPTED HOWEVER...WOULD TREND CLOSER TO
FAN MAXES FOR TU
E.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 3, 5:27 AM EST, 1 hour 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE/TRI-CITIES TN
530 AM EST MON MAR 3 1997

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

520 AM     LAKE CITY                 TN   FLOODING
03/03/97   ANDERSON
                                          INTERSTATE 75 AND
                                          HIGHWAY 441 UNDER, WATER

  BOYD

Local storm report, Mar 3, 5:57 AM EST, 1 hour 16 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE/TRI-CITIES TN
553 AM EST MON MAR 3 1997

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

545 AM     JACKSBORO                 TN   FLOODING
03/03/97   CAMPBELL                       VALLEY STREET AND OTHERS IN
                                          VICINITY CLOSED

BOYD

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 3, 5:50 AM EST	Flash Flood Warning	MRX	Hancock	3 hr
Mar 3, 6:30 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Monroe, Polk	60 min
Mar 3, 6:34 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Blount, Monroe	56 min
Mar 3, 6:46 AM EST	Tornado Warning	MRX	Blount, Monroe	29 min
Mar 3, 7:19 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Hamblen	26 min
Mar 3, 7:25 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Knox	35 min

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.