Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Watches in 2000

Tornado Watch 8

January 3, 200018 counties in Mississippi; 24 counties in Tennessee

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 3, 2000, 2:00 PM CST for 18 counties in Mississippi; 24 counties in Tennessee. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jan 3, 2000, 2:00 PM CST (20:00 UTC)
Expired: Jan 3, 2000, 7:00 PM CST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 42 counties

Alcorn County, MS, Benton County, MS, Coahoma County, MS, DeSoto County, MS, Itawamba County, MS, Lafayette County, MS, Lee County, MS, Marshall County, MS, Panola County, MS, Pontotoc County, MS, Prentiss County, MS, Quitman County, MS, Tate County, MS, Tippah County, MS, Tishomingo County, MS, Tunica County, MS, Union County, MS, Yalobusha County, MS, Benton County, TN, Carroll County, TN, Cheatham County, TN, Chester County, TN, Crockett County, TN, Decatur County, TN, Dickson County, TN, Dyer County, TN, Fayette County, TN, Gibson County, TN, Hardeman County, TN, Hardin County, TN, Haywood County, TN, Henderson County, TN, Hickman County, TN, Humphreys County, TN, Lauderdale County, TN, Lewis County, TN, Madison County, TN, McNairy County, TN, Perry County, TN, Shelby County, TN, Tipton County, TN, Wayne County, TN

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 69 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:01 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 3, 2:10 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MEG	Tippah	50 min
Jan 3, 4:04 PM CST	Tornado Warning	OHX	Wayne	26 min
Jan 3, 4:30 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Hickman, Lawrence, Lewis, Maury	45 min
Jan 3, 5:04 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Cheatham, Davidson, Williamson	41 min
Jan 3, 6:10 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Benton, Houston, Stewart	35 min
Jan 3, 6:16 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Lawrence, Lewis, Wayne	44 min
Jan 3, 6:48 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Hickman, Lewis, Maury, Williamson	27 min

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 56 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: 486 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 703 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 72 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 371 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 513 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.4
Supercell composite: 7.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

345 
WWUS9 KMKC 031949
SEL8  

SEL8  
MKC WW 031949
ALZ000-ARZ000-MSZ000-TNZ000-040100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 8
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
149 PM CST MON JAN 3 2000

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

   EXTREME NORTHWEST ALABAMA                            
   EXTREME EASTERN ARKANSAS                           
   NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI                        
   WESTERN AND MIDDLE TENNESSEE                          

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 200 PM UNTIL 700
PM CST.

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 75 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF OXFORD MISSISSIPPI TO 65
MILES NORTHEAST OF JACKSON TENNESSEE.

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 4...WW 5...WW 6...WW 7...

DISCUSSION...TWO AREAS OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING
THROUGH THESE AREAS NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.  FIRST AREA IS MOVING NEWD
ACROSS MS WHILE THE SECOND AREA IS ALONG COLD FRONT THROUGH ERN AR.
STRONG WINDS SHEAR AND INSTABILITY TO 1500 J/KG INDICATES THREAT
FOR ISOLATED TORNADOES.


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 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24040.


...MCCARTHY

335,0910 361,0892 361,0864 335,0882

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 3, 10:00 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bolivar, Coahoma, DeSoto, Leflore, Marshall, Panola and 6 more	6 hr
Jan 3, 12:00 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Adams, Amite, Attala, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw and 40 more	6 hr
Jan 3, 5:15 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Clarke, Jasper, Jones, Kemper, Lauderdale, Noxubee and 1 more	6 hr
Jan 3, 7:00 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer and 15 more	6 hr
Jan 3, 11:00 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Henry, Houston, Montgomery and 3 more	6 hr
Jan 3, 4:00 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Cheatham, Henry, Houston, Macon, Montgomery, Robertson and 3 more	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 2000 Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 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.