Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 18, NWS Morristown, TN

April 16, 1998Anderson County, Scott County, Tennessee

NWS Morristown, TN issued this tornado warning at Apr 16, 1998, 10:30 AM EDT for Anderson County, Scott County, Tennessee. It was in force for 65 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 16, 1998, 10:30 AM EDT (14:30 UTC)
Expired
Apr 16, 1998, 11:35 AM EDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Morristown, TN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Anderson County, TN, Scott County, TN

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 16, 8:00 AM EDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 202 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 1998-04-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 76 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1998-04-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 13 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
76 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
585 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
13 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
180 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.

793 
WFUS01 KMRX 161431 RRA
TORMRX
TNC001-151-161530-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE/TRI-CITIES TN
1030 AM EDT THU APR 16 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN KNOXVILLE/TRI-CITIES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  ANDERSON COUNTY IN EASTERN TENNESSEE
  SOUTHERN SCOTT COUNTY IN EASTERN TENNESSEE

* UNTIL 1135 AM EDT

* AT 1030 AM EDT ... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR
  INDICATED A TORNADO 10 MILES WEST OF PETROS IN MORGAN
  COUNTY... MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  PETROS BY 1040 AM EDT
  CLINTON BY 1100 AM EDT

ABANDON MOBILE HOMES...THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM...

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Morristown, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Apr 16, 10:18 AM EDT, 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 16, 10:18 AM EDT, 12 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE/TRI-CITIES TN
1020 PM EDT THU APR 16 1998

BUSY MORNING WITH SEVERE CONVECTION MOVING IN FROM MIDDLE TN AND NEW STUFF
FORMING OVER CWA.  MODIFIED BNA SOUNDING LOOKS LIKE MORE OF A TORNADO
SOUNDING AS CELLS MOVE DUE EAST INCREASING HELICITY LOCALLY.  PARTS
OF LINEAR CONVECTION WILL HAVE MORE STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE.  IN
ADDITION...NEARLY SATURATED SOUNDING WITH PW OF 1.42 AT BNA WILL
RESULT IN FLOODING OF VARIOUS DEGREES AS ECHOES TRAIN.  MOST WILL BE
URBAN/SMALL STREAM FLOODING WITH ISOLATED FFW EXPECTED LATER.  DO NOT
RECOMMEND FFA ATTM...AS FLORA HAS THICKENED CONSIDERABLY AND BLV FLOODING
WILL BE MORE SPOTTY THAN WIDESPREAD TODAY.  TONIGHT MAY BE ANOTHER STORY
AS SEVERE CONVECTION WEAKENS AND TEMP/DP SPREADS NARROW.

AGREE WITH TEMPS AND POPS IN ZONES...WE MAY BE A LITTLE COOLER THAN
FORCAST IN NORTHERN ZONES AS CLOUDS KEEP SUN OUT...BUT DONT BELV AN
UPDATE IS IN ORDER.v

GOTTA RUN.

BB

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 16, 5:25 AM EDT, 5 hours 5 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE/TRI-CITIES TN
525 AM EDT THU APR 16 1998

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

440 PM     POUND AREA                VA   0.75 INCH HAIL
04/15/98   WISE                           HAIL CAUSED SERIOUS TRAFFIC
                                          PROBLEMS.  SOME HAIL POSSIBLY
                                          LARGER BUT COULD NOT BE VERIFIED.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 16, 10:02 AM EDTTornado WarningMRXCumberland, Fentress, Morgan63 min
Apr 16, 10:33 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMRXClaiborne, Grainger, Hancock4 hr
Apr 16, 10:33 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMRXCumberland, Fentress, Morgan, Scott4 hr
Apr 16, 10:33 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMRXAnderson, Campbell, Union4 hr
Apr 16, 12:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXRhea33 min
Apr 16, 1:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXMonroe46 min
Apr 16, 4:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXClaiborne47 min
Apr 16, 4:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXHancock46 min
Apr 16, 4:39 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXHamilton61 min
Apr 16, 5:17 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXBradley, McMinn, Meigs63 min
Apr 16, 5:17 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXRhea63 min
Apr 16, 5:22 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXMeigs, Rhea33 min
Apr 16, 5:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXSullivan46 min
Apr 16, 5:36 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXLoudon, Roane64 min
Apr 16, 5:39 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXMcMinn, Polk61 min
Apr 16, 5:47 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXPolk63 min
Apr 16, 6:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXAnderson, Knox65 min
Apr 16, 6:00 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXMonroe45 min
Apr 16, 6:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXCumberland1 min
Apr 16, 6:23 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXCumberland57 min
Apr 16, 6:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXGrainger, Union58 min
Apr 16, 6:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXFentress, Morgan63 min
Apr 16, 6:38 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXCumberland62 min
Apr 16, 6:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXMonroe31 min
Apr 16, 6:49 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXMorgan66 min
Apr 16, 6:53 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXClaiborne67 min
Apr 16, 7:07 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXHancock48 min
Apr 16, 7:12 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXCampbell33 min
Apr 16, 7:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXBradley, Hamilton62 min
Apr 16, 7:13 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXUnion37 min
Apr 16, 7:15 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXAnderson35 min
Apr 16, 7:21 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXGrainger34 min
Apr 16, 7:23 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXScott32 min
Apr 16, 7:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXCampbell65 min
Apr 16, 7:48 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXAnderson, Union47 min
Apr 16, 7:53 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXGrainger47 min
Apr 16, 7:58 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXClaiborne47 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.