Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 113, NWS Memphis, TN

May 8, 2003Gibson County, Tennessee

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at May 8, 2003, 1:49 PM CDT for Gibson County, Tennessee. It was in force for 11 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 8, 2003, 1:49 PM CDT (18:49 UTC)
Expired
May 8, 2003, 2:00 PM CDT
In force
11 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Gibson County, TN

The radar

The Paducah radar (KPAH), 117 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:50 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 8, 10:25 AM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 169 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, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2003-05-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2233 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, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2003-05-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 85 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
2233 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
552 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
85 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
195 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.9
Supercell composite
10.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KMEG 081849
TORMEM
TNC053-081900-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
145 PM CDT THU MAY 8 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  GIBSON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST TENNESSEE

* UNTIL 200 PM CDT.

* AT 144 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 5 MILES NORTH OF
  MILAN...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

.IF YOU ARE NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...TAKE COVER IN AN INTERIOR
ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. PROTECT YOUR BODY FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

.STAY TUNED TO THIS BROADCAST FOR THE LATEST UPDATES AND INFORMATION.
TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER ONLY...CALL 1 800 4 3 2 0 8 7 5.

LAT...LON 3609 8884 3591 8883 3590 8870 3607 8870

The office that day

Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 8, 11:30 AM CDTTornado WarningMEGDyer60 min
May 8, 11:34 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLake41 min
May 8, 12:25 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGDyer35 min
May 8, 12:45 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGCrockett, Gibson60 min
May 8, 1:41 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGCarroll64 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Tennessee, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes in 2003

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.