Alert archive / Kentucky / Tornado Watches in 2000

Tornado Watch 332

May 23, 200023 counties in Kentucky; 23 counties in Tennessee; Lee County, Virginia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 23, 2000, 7:15 PM EDT for 23 counties in Kentucky; 23 counties in Tennessee; Lee County, Virginia. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 23, 2000, 7:15 PM EDT (23:15 UTC)
Expired
May 24, 2000, 1:00 AM EDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 47 counties

Bell County, KY, Breathitt County, KY, Clay County, KY, Clinton County, KY, Estill County, KY, Floyd County, KY, Garrard County, KY, Harlan County, KY, Jackson County, KY, Knott County, KY, Knox County, KY, Laurel County, KY, Lee County, KY, Leslie County, KY, Letcher County, KY, Lincoln County, KY, McCreary County, KY, Owsley County, KY, Perry County, KY, Pulaski County, KY, Rockcastle County, KY, Wayne County, KY, Whitley County, KY, Anderson County, TN, Bledsoe County, TN, Blount County, TN, Campbell County, TN, Claiborne County, TN, Cumberland County, TN, Fentress County, TN, Grainger County, TN, Hamblen County, TN, Hancock County, TN, Jefferson County, TN, Knox County, TN, Loudon County, TN, Morgan County, TN, Overton County, TN, Pickett County, TN, Rhea County, TN, Roane County, TN, Scott County, TN, Sevier County, TN, Union County, TN, Van Buren County, TN, White County, TN, Lee County, VA

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 96 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:15 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 23, 7:34 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXAnderson, Union26 min
May 23, 8:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXGrainger, Jefferson, Knox24 min
May 23, 10:01 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXClay, Pickett29 min
May 23, 10:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXCocke, Hamblen27 min
May 23, 11:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXMorgan46 min

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 198 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 2000-05-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 25 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 2000-05-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 232 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
25 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-194 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1129 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
232 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
311 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS9 KMKC 232304
MKC WW 232304
KYZ000-TNZ000-240500-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 332
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
704 PM EDT TUE MAY 23 2000

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

   EASTERN KENTUCKY                           
   EASTERN TENNESSEE                          

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 715 PM
UNTIL 100 AM EDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES SOUTHEAST OF CROSSVILLE TENNESSEE TO 15
MILES NORTHWEST OF JACKSON 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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 326...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER
327.  WATCH NUMBER 326...327 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 715 PM
EDT.  CONTINUE...WW 328...WW 329...WW 330...WW 331...

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE MOVING ACROSS REGION OF
MODERATE TO HIGH INSTABILITY AND STRONGLY VEERING WIND PROFILE WITH
POTENTIAL FOR FURTHER SUPERCELL DEVELOPMENT. 


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 30035.


...ROGASH

;374,0822 353,0833 353,0854 374,0844;

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 23, 9:45 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBallard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Crittenden, Fulton and 9 more5 hr
May 23, 11:15 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAdair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Boyle, Breckinridge and 31 more6 hr
May 23, 2:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBell, Clinton, Harlan, Knox, McCreary, Wayne and 1 more5 hr
May 23, 3:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAdair, Allen, Barren, Bell, Boyle, Breathitt and 52 more6 hr
May 23, 3:30 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCAdair, Allen, Barren, Boyle, Casey, Cumberland and 11 more6 hr
May 23, 5:30 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCBallard, Breckinridge, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle and 22 more6 hr
May 23, 7:45 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCBoyd5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Kentucky, 2000Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 2000Tornado Watches in Virginia, 2000Every 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.