Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Watches in 2000

Tornado Watch 255

May 9, 20005 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 9, 2000, 4:45 PM CDT for 5 states. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 9, 2000, 4:45 PM CDT (21:45 UTC)
Expired: May 9, 2000, 10:00 PM CDT
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 50 counties

Crittenden County, AR, Cross County, AR, Mississippi County, AR, Poinsett County, AR, St. Francis County, AR, Alexander County, IL, Hardin County, IL, Johnson County, IL, Massac County, IL, Pope County, IL, Pulaski County, IL, Union County, IL, Ballard County, KY, Caldwell County, KY, Calloway County, KY, Carlisle County, KY, Crittenden County, KY, Fulton County, KY, Graves County, KY, Hickman County, KY, Hopkins County, KY, Livingston County, KY, Lyon County, KY, Marshall County, KY, McCracken County, KY, Trigg County, KY, Webster County, KY, Cape Girardeau County, MO, Dunklin County, MO, Mississippi County, MO, New Madrid County, MO, Pemiscot County, MO, Scott County, MO, Stoddard County, MO, Carroll County, TN, Chester County, TN, Crockett County, TN, Dyer County, TN, Fayette County, TN, Gibson County, TN, Hardeman County, TN, Haywood County, TN, Henry County, TN, Lake County, TN, Lauderdale County, TN, Madison County, TN, Obion County, TN, Shelby County, TN, Tipton County, TN, Weakley County, TN

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 79 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:47 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 9, 5:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Lauderdale, Tipton	23 min
May 9, 6:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Fayette	38 min
May 9, 7:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH	Calloway	44 min
May 9, 7:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Hardeman	32 min

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 136 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: 122 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -548 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1018 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -5 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.

668 
WWUS9 KMKC 092117
SEL5  

SEL5  
MKC WW 092117
ARZ000-ILZ000-KYZ000-MOZ000-TNZ000-100300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 255
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
417 PM CDT TUE MAY 9 2000

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

   NORTHEAST ARKANSAS                           
   SOUTHERN ILLINOIS                           
   WESTERN KENTUCKY                           
   SOUTHEAST MISSOURI                           
   WESTERN TENNESSEE                          

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 445 PM UNTIL 1000
PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MEMPHIS TENNESSEE TO 35 MILES
NORTH NORTHEAST OF PADUCAH KENTUCKY.

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 253...WW 254...

DISCUSSION...SQUALL LINE HAS FORMED AHEAD OF TROUGH ACROSS NERN AR
WITH EMBEDDED SUPER CELLS.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO
DEVELOP E/NE WITH SHEAR PROFILES AND MODERATE INSTABIITY SUFFICIENT
FOR TORNADIC SUPERCELLS.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.


...HALES

373,0872 345,0884 345,0910 373,0894

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 8, 8:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Boone, Bureau, Carroll, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy and 21 more	5 hr
May 8, 10:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Champaign, Christian, Coles, Cook, DeWitt, Douglas and 19 more	6 hr
May 9, 12:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Calhoun, Jersey, Monroe	6 hr
May 9, 2:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas and 19 more	7 hr
May 9, 3:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant and 2 more	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 2000 Tornado Watches in Kentucky, 2000 Tornado Watches in Illinois, 2000 Every tornado watch in 2000

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.