Alert archive / Tennessee / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1999

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 9, NWS Memphis, TN

January 17, 1999Crockett County, Gibson County, Tennessee

NWS Memphis, TN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jan 17, 1999, 5:53 PM CST for Crockett County, Gibson County, Tennessee. It was in force for 47 min. 2 reports 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
Jan 17, 1999, 5:53 PM CST (23:53 UTC)
Expired
Jan 17, 1999, 6:40 PM CST
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Crockett County, TN, Gibson County, TN

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jan 17, 6:09 PM CSTTornado F3Alamo, TNThe tornado began just south of Alamo and tracked northeast damaging the south side of Alamo before moving into rural areas. Eleven conventional homes, five mobile homes and one commercial building were destroyed. Seventy-three other homes and buildings were
Jan 17, 6:20 PM CSTThunderstorm WindHumboldt, TNA couple of houses had their roofs blown off. Some windows were also blown out. A crop duster was flipped up. Some large tree limbs were knocked down as well.

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
Jan 17, 2:30 PM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 145 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 12:00Z on 1999-01-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 23 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 12:00Z on 1999-01-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 331 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
23 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-31 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
502 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
331 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
353 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

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

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 17, 2:00 PM CST, 3 hours 53 minutes before
ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115-MSZ001>017-
020>024-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>054-088>092-180300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
200 PM CST SUN JAN 17 1999

THIS OUTLOOK COVERS THE COUNTY WARNING AREA OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN MEMPHIS TENNESSEE..INCLUDING NORTHEAST
ARKANSAS..THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL..WEST TENNESSEE..AND NORTHERN
MISSISSIPPI.

RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE INCREASED IN THE MIDSOUTH. MODERATE
RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER IS NOW CENTERED OVER MEMPHIS TENNESSEE..WITH
THIS RISK EXTENDING OUT AROUND 75 MILES. A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS EXITS FOR THE REST OF THE MIDSOUTH.

AN AREA OF STORMS IS DEVELOPING FROM NORTH CENTRAL TO SOUTH CENTRAL
ARKANSAS. THESE STORMS WILL INTENSIFY AS THEY MOVE EAST THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. VERY STRONG SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS ARE FILLING
THE ATMOSPHERE WITH INCREASINGLY MOIST UNSTABLE AIR. ISOLATED
TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE ALONG WITH DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS
AND LARGE HAIL UNTIL A COLD FROM PASSES THIS EVENING.

STORM SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD BE
PREPARED FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS
EVENING. MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO..COMMERCIAL RADIO..TV AND CABLE
TELEVISION OUTLETS FOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND INFORMATION.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 17, 5:25 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLauderdale, Tipton45 min
Jan 17, 5:25 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGDyer, Lake45 min
Jan 17, 5:30 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGShelby45 min
Jan 17, 5:44 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGObion46 min
Jan 17, 5:53 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHaywood47 min
Jan 17, 2:57 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLawrence33 min
Jan 17, 3:20 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGRandolph50 min
Jan 17, 3:37 PM CSTTornado WarningMEGCraighead, Poinsett48 min
Jan 17, 3:53 PM CSTTornado WarningMEGRandolph32 min
Jan 17, 4:17 PM CSTTornado WarningMEGCraighead, Poinsett43 min
Jan 17, 4:19 PM CSTTornado WarningMEGGreene51 min
Jan 17, 4:35 PM CSTTornado WarningMEGCross45 min
Jan 17, 4:51 PM CSTTornado WarningMEGMississippi49 min
Jan 17, 5:04 PM CSTTornado WarningMEGCrittenden46 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Tennessee, 1999Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1999

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.