Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 69, NWS Nashville, TN

May 2, 1997Coffee County, Tennessee

NWS Nashville, TN issued this tornado warning at May 2, 1997, 5:53 PM CDT for Coffee County, Tennessee. It was in force for 52 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, 5:53 PM CDT (22:53 UTC)
Expired
May 2, 1997, 6:45 PM CDT
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Nashville, TN
Area
Whole counties

County Coffee County, TN

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 2, 6:20 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50Manchester, TNLocal law enforcement reported a few trees and power lines down.

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, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 85 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 1997-05-02Temperature 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 1997-05-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 160 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
2241 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
160 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
297 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 022255 RRA
TORBNA
TNC031-022345-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
553 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  645 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE
 
   ...COFFEE COUNTY
 
AT 552 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO ABOUT 5 MILES EAST OF
SHELBYVILLE. THE TORNADO WAS MOVING EAST AT AROUND 50 MPH...AND WILL
REACH NEAR MANCHESTER BY 610 PM AND RAGSDALE BY 620 PM. YOU SHOULD TAKE
COVER 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 I0S 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.
 
TT

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 5:14 PM CDTTornado WarningOHXMarshall31 min
May 2, 5:38 PM CDTTornado WarningOHXBedford, Lincoln, Moore37 min
May 2, 5:44 PM CDTTornado WarningOHXFranklin46 min
May 2, 6:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXGrundy, Marion44 min
May 2, 6:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXWarren44 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.