Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 53, NWS Morristown, TN

May 31, 1998Claiborne County, Tennessee

NWS Morristown, TN issued this tornado warning at May 31, 1998, 10:43 PM EDT for Claiborne County, Tennessee. It was in force for 47 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
May 31, 1998, 10:43 PM EDT (02:43 UTC)
Expired
May 31, 1998, 11:30 PM EDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Morristown, TN
Area
Whole counties

County Claiborne County, TN

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 266 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 00:00Z on 1998-06-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3629 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 00:00Z on 1998-06-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 156 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
3629 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1064 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
156 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
302 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
5.1
Supercell composite
21.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMRX 010243 RRA
TORMRX
TNC025-010330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE/TRI-CITIES TN
1043 PM EDT SUN MAY 31 1998

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

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN CLAIBORNE COUNTY IN EASTERN TENNESSEE

* UNTIL 1130 PM EDT

* AT 1042 PM EDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A TORNADO NEAR CLAIRFIELD... MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  CLAIRFIELD AROUND 1050 PM EDT

GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR!

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 May 31, 8:25 PM EDT, 2 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 8:25 PM EDT, 2 hours 18 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KNOXVILLE/TRI-CITIES TN
825 PM EDT SUN MAY 31 1998

MODIFIED BNA SOUNDING RATHER LETHAL THIS EVE WITH CAPE ARND 2800 AND
HELICITY ARND 300.  WITH THIS PROFILE...SUPERCELL STORMS MAY DEVELOP
ALTHOUGH MAIN THREAT APPEARS TO BE DOWNBURST WIND AND HAIL.  INITIAL
LINE OF STORMS MOVG ALONG OUTFLOW WL REACH SW VA ZONES ARND 02Z AND
LATER WHILE DEVELOPMENT WL OCCUR AFT MIDNITE MUCH OF THE REMAINDER OF
THE FA WITH TE EXCEPTION OF EXTREME NE TN ZONES.  STORMS WL REACH THIS
AREA ARND 03-04Z.  DONT EXPECT CD FNT ON PLATEAU UNTIL 08Z.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 31, 10:25 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXCampbell50 min
May 31, 10:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXClaiborne62 min
May 31, 10:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXScott63 min
May 31, 11:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXCampbell65 min
May 31, 11:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXAnderson, Claiborne, Union60 min
May 31, 11:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXFentress, Morgan60 min
May 31, 11:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXScott66 min
Jun 1, 12:12 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMRXCampbell, Scott3 hr
Jun 1, 12:19 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXGrainger61 min
Jun 1, 12:28 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXAnderson62 min
Jun 1, 12:33 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXClaiborne47 min
Jun 1, 12:35 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXCampbell50 min
Jun 1, 12:45 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXHamblen, Jefferson65 min
Jun 1, 12:45 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXKnox65 min
Jun 1, 1:00 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXCocke, Sevier65 min
Jun 1, 1:00 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXBlount65 min
Jun 1, 1:30 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMRXAnderson, Knox3 hr
Jun 1, 2:02 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMRXBlount3 hr
Jun 1, 2:18 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXMeigs, Rhea32 min
Jun 1, 2:20 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXMeigs, Rhea30 min
Jun 1, 2:58 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXMcMinn47 min
Jun 1, 4:24 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningMRXBlount, Knox3 hr

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.