Alert archive / Kentucky / Tornado Watches in 2001

Tornado Watch 342

May 31, 2001Spencer County, Indiana; 46 counties in Kentucky; 28 counties in Tennessee

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 31, 2001, 8:15 PM CDT for Spencer County, Indiana; 46 counties in Kentucky; 28 counties in Tennessee. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 31, 2001, 8:15 PM CDT (01:15 UTC)
Expired: Jun 1, 2001, 12:00 AM CDT
In force: 4 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 75 counties

Spencer County, IN, Adair County, KY, Allen County, KY, Anderson County, KY, Barren County, KY, Bell County, KY, Boyle County, KY, Breckinridge County, KY, Bullitt County, KY, Butler County, KY, Casey County, KY, Clark County, KY, Clinton County, KY, Cumberland County, KY, Edmonson County, KY, Estill County, KY, Garrard County, KY, Grayson County, KY, Green County, KY, Hancock County, KY, Hardin County, KY, Hart County, KY, Jackson County, KY, Jessamine County, KY, Knox County, KY, Larue County, KY, Laurel County, KY, Lincoln County, KY, Madison County, KY, Marion County, KY, McCreary County, KY, Meade County, KY, Mercer County, KY, Metcalfe County, KY, Monroe County, KY, Nelson County, KY, Ohio County, KY, Pulaski County, KY, Rockcastle County, KY, Russell County, KY, Simpson County, KY, Spencer County, KY, Taylor County, KY, Warren County, KY, Washington County, KY, Wayne County, KY, Whitley County, KY, Anderson County, TN, Blount County, TN, Campbell County, TN, Cannon County, TN, Claiborne County, TN, Clay County, TN, Cumberland County, TN, DeKalb County, TN, Fentress County, TN, Jackson County, TN, Knox County, TN, Loudon County, TN, Macon County, TN, Morgan County, TN, Overton County, TN, Pickett County, TN, Putnam County, TN, Roane County, TN, Rutherford County, TN, Scott County, TN, Sevier County, TN, Smith County, TN, Sumner County, TN, Trousdale County, TN, Union County, TN, Van Buren County, TN, White County, TN, Wilson County, TN

The radar

The Louisville radar (KLVX), 130 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:17 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 31, 10:05 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Nelson	25 min

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 180 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: 170 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1007 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 277 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 400 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 2.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS9 KMKC 010108
SEL2  

SEL2  
MKC WW 010103
KYZ000-TNZ000-010500-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 342
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
803 PM CDT THU MAY 31 2001

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

   CENTRAL KENTUCKY                           
   MIDDLE AND EASTERN TENNESSEE                          

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING FROM 815 PM UNTIL
MIDNIGHT CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO
60 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 85 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES WEST OF LEXINGTON KENTUCKY TO 20 MILES
SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF CROSSVILLE 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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 340.  WATCH NUMBER 340 WILL NOT BE IN
EFFECT AFTER 815 PM CDT.  CONTINUE...WW 338...WW 339...WW 341...

DISCUSSION...NRN TN MESOSYSTEM WILL CONTINUE ENEWD INTO ENVIRONMENT
OF DEEP MOISTURE AND LIMITED INSTABILITY.  LIFT ASSOCIATED WITH
SYSTEM...AND BACKED LOW LEVEL FLOW IN RESPONSE TO IT...HAS CREATED
LARGE LOW-LEVEL HELICITIES NEAR COMMA HEAD AND JUST AHEAD OF
TRAILING CONVERGENCE LINE.  CONDITIONS THUS APPEAR FAVORABLE FOR A
FEW TORNADOES DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFTq TO 1 INCH...EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 50 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24030.


...CORFIDI

;380,0835 354,0832 354,0862 380,0870;

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Kentucky, 2001 Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 2001 Tornado Watches in Indiana, 2001 Every tornado watch in 2001

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.