Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 262

April 27, 19989 counties in Alabama; 11 counties in Mississippi; 18 counties in Tennessee

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 27, 1998, 7:15 PM CDT for 9 counties in Alabama; 11 counties in Mississippi; 18 counties in Tennessee. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Apr 27, 1998, 7:15 PM CDT (00:15 UTC)
Expired: Apr 28, 1998, 12:00 AM CDT
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 38 counties

Colbert County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Franklin County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Lauderdale County, AL, Lawrence County, AL, Limestone County, AL, Marion County, AL, Winston County, AL, Alcorn County, MS, Calhoun County, MS, Chickasaw County, MS, Itawamba County, MS, Lee County, MS, Monroe County, MS, Pontotoc County, MS, Prentiss County, MS, Tippah County, MS, Tishomingo County, MS, Union County, MS, Benton County, TN, Carroll County, TN, Chester County, TN, Decatur County, TN, Giles County, TN, Hardeman County, TN, Hardin County, TN, Henderson County, TN, Hickman County, TN, Humphreys County, TN, Lawrence County, TN, Lewis County, TN, Madison County, TN, Marshall County, TN, Maury County, TN, McNairy County, TN, Perry County, TN, Wayne County, TN

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 84 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:18 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 27, 7:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Tippah	49 min
Apr 27, 7:38 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Tippah	47 min
Apr 27, 7:38 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OHX	Perry	62 min
Apr 27, 7:52 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Union	48 min
Apr 27, 8:15 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	OHX	Decatur	2 hr
Apr 27, 8:22 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OHX	Hickman, Lewis	63 min
Apr 27, 8:24 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Tippah	51 min
Apr 27, 8:36 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	OHX	Perry	2 hr
Apr 27, 8:38 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Benton, Marshall, Tippah	3 hr
Apr 27, 10:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Union	34 min
Apr 27, 10:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Prentiss	58 min
Apr 27, 11:34 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Hardeman, McNairy	3 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 151 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 21 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -141 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1140 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -65 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 26 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.

459 
WWUS9 KMKC 280001
SEL2  
MKC WW 280001
MSZ000-ALZ000-TNZ000-280500-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 262
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
701 PM CDT MON APR 27 1998

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

   NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI                        
   NORTHWEST ALABAMA                            
   WESTERN AND MIDDLE TENNESSEE                          

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 715 PM UNTIL
MIDNIGHT 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 60 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM COLUMBUS AFB MISSISSIPPI TO 90 MILES NORTH OF MUSCLE
SHOALS ALABAMA.

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...  CONTINUE...WW 260...WW 261...

DISCUSSION...SEVERE STORMS ARE MOVING EASTWARD TOWARD MIDDLE TN AND
NORTHEAST MS.  STRONG MIDDLE LEVEL WINDS ACCORDING TO OKALONA
PROFILER INDICATE SUFFICIENT SHEAR TO MAINTAIN SEVERE THREAT NEXT
SEVERAL HOURS.


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 450. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22035.


...WEISS

335,0892 361,0883 354,0863 332,0872

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 27, 9:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Adams, Attala, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw and 31 more	3 hr
Apr 28, 12:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Adams, Amite, Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin, Hinds and 14 more	5 hr
Apr 28, 2:15 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Covington, Forrest, Hancock, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar and 7 more	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 1998 Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 1998 Tornado Watches in Alabama, 1998 Every tornado watch 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.