Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 65, NWS Nashville, TN

April 21, 1997Bedford County, Coffee County, Tennessee

NWS Nashville, TN issued this tornado warning at Apr 21, 1997, 1:54 PM CDT for Bedford County, Coffee County, Tennessee. It was in force for 36 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
Apr 21, 1997, 1:54 PM CDT (18:54 UTC)
Expired
Apr 21, 1997, 2:30 PM CDT
In force
36 min
Issued by
NWS Nashville, TN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Bedford County, TN, Coffee County, TN

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 21, 2:10 PM CDTHail 1.25Fairfield, TNHalf dollar size hail reported just west of Fairfield on Fairfield Pike. It lasted for about 20 minutes and caused substantial damage to vehicles and homes. One person received $3200 worth of damage to a new car.

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 21, 1:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 76 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 12:00Z on 1997-04-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1997-04-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 141 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1346 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
67 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
278 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 KBNA 211854 RRA
TORBNA
TNC003-031-211930-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
154 PM CDT MON APR 21 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  230 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE
 
   ...EASTERN BEDFORD COUNTY...NORTHERN COFFEE COUNTY
 
AT 152 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO JUST NORTH OF BELLBUCKLE
MOVING EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR TOWARD BEECHGROVE AND NOAH. VERY LARGE
HAIL IS LIKELY WITH THIS STORM. TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 21, 11:44 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningOHXDeKalb, White106 min
Apr 21, 12:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXHickman, Lewis38 min
Apr 21, 1:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXMarshall, Rutherford, Williamson44 min
Apr 21, 1:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXBedford44 min
Apr 21, 1:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXMaury55 min
Apr 21, 2:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXWayne29 min
Apr 21, 2:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXCoffee, Warren43 min
Apr 21, 2:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXBedford32 min
Apr 21, 2:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXLawrence, Lewis, Wayne43 min
Apr 21, 2:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXMarshall, Maury33 min
Apr 21, 3:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXCoffee, Warren44 min
Apr 21, 3:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXBedford44 min
Apr 21, 3:28 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningOHXLewis, Marshall, Maury2 hr
Apr 21, 3:28 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningOHXBedford, Coffee2 hr
Apr 21, 3:28 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningOHXWarren, White2 hr
Apr 21, 3:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXMarshall, Maury27 min
Apr 21, 3:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXPutnam, White34 min
Apr 21, 3:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXLewis, Wayne43 min
Apr 21, 4:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXOverton25 min
Apr 21, 4:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXCoffee29 min
Apr 21, 4:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXLawrence, Wayne39 min
Apr 21, 4:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXBledsoe26 min
Apr 21, 5:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXGiles, Lawrence46 min
Apr 21, 5:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXLincoln42 min
Apr 21, 5:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXGiles31 min
Apr 21, 6:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXLawrence12 min

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.