Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 50, NWS Memphis, TN

May 7, 1998Tipton County, Tennessee

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at May 7, 1998, 2:41 AM CDT for Tipton County, Tennessee. It was in force for 34 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 7, 1998, 2:41 AM CDT (07:41 UTC)
Expired
May 7, 1998, 3:15 AM CDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Whole counties

County Tipton County, TN

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 7, 2:50 AM CDTThunderstorm WindCountywide, TNSeveral trees were knocked down across the county. One tree fell on two cars in Covington.

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
May 6, 10:15 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 7.7 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 1998-05-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2412 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 1998-05-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 47 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
2412 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
918 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
151 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.5
Supercell composite
4.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

002 
WFUS1 KMEM 070746
TORMEM
TNC167-070815-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING...CORRECTED TO ADD MOVEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
241 AM CDT THU MAY 7 1998


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  TIPTON COUNTY IN WESTERN TENNESSEE

* UNTIL 315 AM CDT

* AT 240 AM CDT... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO NEAR MUNFORD
  MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  MASON BY 255 PM CDT
.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 SAFETY 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 Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 7, 1:34 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLauderdale36 min
May 7, 3:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGFayette35 min
May 7, 3:14 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGMcNairy36 min
May 7, 3:20 AM CDTTornado WarningMEGHardin, McNairy35 min
May 7, 3:48 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHardeman47 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Tennessee, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes in 1998

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.