Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Morristown, TN

May 2, 1997Bradley County, Tennessee

NWS Morristown, TN issued this tornado warning at May 2, 1997, 8:09 PM EDT for Bradley County, Tennessee. It was in force for 51 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
May 2, 1997, 8:09 PM EDT (00:09 UTC)
Expired
May 2, 1997, 9:00 PM EDT
In force
51 min
Issued by
NWS Morristown, TN
Area
Whole counties

County Bradley County, TN

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 2, 8:30 PM EDTThunderstorm WindSouth End Of County, 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, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 191 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 00:00Z on 1997-05-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 388 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 00:00Z on 1997-05-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 365 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
388 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-45 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
655 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
365 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
637 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.9
Supercell composite
4.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMRX 030006 RRA
TORMRX
TNC011-030100-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE TRI CITIES TN
809 PM EDT FRI MAY 2 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN KNOXVILLE TRI CITIES HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  900 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN EAST TENNESSEE
 
   ...BRADLEY COUNTY
 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO IN HAMILTON
COUNTY. THIS STORM IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH INTO BRADLEY COUNTY.
PINE HILL AND CLEVELAND ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM AND WILL BE
AFFECTED BY 815 PM EDT.  THERE HAVE BEEN SPOTTER REPORTS OF TORNADOES
WITH THIS STORM.  TAKE COVER NOW.
 
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 Morristown, TN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 8:39 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXPolk36 min
May 3, 3:00 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMRXCumberland, Fentress, Morgan, Scott6 hr
May 3, 3:00 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMRXBradley, Hamilton, Meigs, Rhea6 hr
May 3, 3:00 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMRXCampbell, Claiborne6 hr
May 3, 3:56 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMRXAnderson, Grainger, Knox, Union5 hr
May 3, 3:56 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMRXBlount, Loudon, Monroe, Sevier5 hr
May 3, 3:56 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMRXMcMinn, Polk5 hr
May 3, 3:56 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMRXRoane5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Tennessee, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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.