Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 328

May 26, 199733 counties in Tennessee

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 26, 1997, 8:00 PM CDT for 33 counties in Tennessee. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 26, 1997, 8:00 PM CDT (01:00 UTC)
Expired
May 27, 1997, 1:00 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 33 counties

Bedford County, TN, Benton County, TN, Cannon County, TN, Carroll County, TN, Chester County, TN, Coffee County, TN, Crockett County, TN, Decatur County, TN, Dyer County, TN, Fayette County, TN, Gibson County, TN, Giles County, TN, Hardeman County, TN, Hardin County, TN, Haywood County, TN, Henderson County, TN, Hickman County, TN, Humphreys County, TN, Lauderdale County, TN, Lawrence County, TN, Lewis County, TN, Lincoln County, TN, Madison County, TN, Marshall County, TN, Maury County, TN, McNairy County, TN, Moore County, TN, Perry County, TN, Rutherford County, TN, Shelby County, TN, Tipton County, TN, Wayne County, TN, Williamson County, TN

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 132 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:59 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.

Warnings issued inside it

8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 26, 8:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGMadison46 min
May 26, 8:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXHickman61 min
May 26, 8:30 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGMadison35 min
May 26, 9:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGChester33 min
May 26, 9:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHardeman51 min
May 26, 9:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGMcNairy48 min
May 26, 9:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHardin46 min
May 26, 10:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXRutherford50 min

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 155 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 1997-05-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4008 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 1997-05-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 30 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
4008 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
884 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
30 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
121 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.8
Supercell composite
4.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

540 
WWUS9 KMKC 270026
SEL8  
MKC WW 270026
TNZ000-270600-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 328
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
726 PM CDT MON MAY 26 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   WESTERN AND MIDDLE TENNESSEE                          

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 800 PM UNTIL
100 AM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 110 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES SOUTHEAST OF JACKSON TENNESSEE TO 65 MILES
WEST OF NASHVILLE TENNESSEE.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 326.  WATCH NUMBER 326 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 800 PM
CDT.  CONTINUE...WW 324...WW 325...WW 327...

DISCUSSION...COMPLEX OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES TO MOVE EAST
SOUTHEASTWARD FROM SOUTHEAST MISSOURI INTO WEST TENNESSEE.  STORMS
ARE EXPECTED TO PROPAGATE ALONG OLD OUTFLOW BOUNDARY INTO MIDDLE
TENNESSEE DURING THE EVENING.  00Z SOUNDINGS AT LIT AND BNA
INDICATE MODERATE TO STRONG INSTABILITY AND FAVORABLE SHEAR TO
SUPPORT CONTINUED THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS INCLUDING ISOLATED
SUPERCELLS.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 28025.


...WEISS

345,0900 360,0894 360,0855 345,0861

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 26, 9:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCShelby6 hr
May 27, 2:45 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCBenton, Carroll, Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson and 6 more5 hr
May 27, 4:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBedford, Chester, Decatur, Giles, Hardin, Henderson and 9 more4 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 1997Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.