Alert archive / Kentucky / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Jackson, KY

May 17, 2002Whitley County, Kentucky

NWS Jackson, KY issued this tornado warning at May 17, 2002, 7:05 PM EDT for Whitley County, Kentucky. It was in force for 25 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 17, 2002, 7:05 PM EDT (23:05 UTC)
Expired: May 17, 2002, 7:30 PM EDT
In force: 25 min
Issued by: NWS Jackson, KY
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Whitley County, KY

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 86 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:07 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 232 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: 17 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -64 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1181 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 99 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 110 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.

000 
WFUS53 KJKL 172305
TORJKL
KYC235-172330-


BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY
705 PM EDT FRI MAY 17 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON KY HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WHITLEY COUNTY.

* UNTIL 730 PM EDT.

* AT 705 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH
  LIKELY TORNADO OVER WILLIAMSBURG...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
RURAL CENTRAL WHITLEY COUNTY AROUND 710 PM EDT.
RURAL EAST CENTRAL WHITLEY COUNTY AROUND 715 PM EDT. 
RURAL EAST CENTRAL WHITLEY COUNTY AROUND 720 PM EDT.
RURAL EXTREME EAST CENTRAL WHITLEY COUNTY AROUND 725 PM EDT

DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. CARS ARE EASILY
TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF A
TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING. IF NO STRUCTURE
IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING...IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3660 8418 3677 8424 3683 8404 3668 8390

PELTON

The office that day

Everything else NWS Jackson, KY issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 17, 6:03 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	McCreary	27 min
May 17, 6:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Laurel	35 min
May 17, 6:44 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Clay, Leslie, Perry	46 min
May 17, 6:51 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Knox, Whitley	39 min
May 17, 7:15 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	JKL	McCreary, Whitley	3 hr
May 17, 7:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Breathitt	44 min
May 17, 7:24 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Knox	36 min
May 17, 7:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Whitley	45 min
May 17, 7:34 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Knott, Leslie, Perry	41 min
May 17, 7:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Floyd	35 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kentucky, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes in 2002

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.