Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 121, NWS Memphis, TN

May 16, 2003Fayette County, Tennessee

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at May 16, 2003, 10:57 PM CDT for Fayette County, Tennessee. It was in force for 63 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 16, 2003, 10:57 PM CDT (03:57 UTC)
Expired: May 17, 2003, 12:00 AM CDT
In force: 63 min
Issued by: NWS Memphis, TN
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Fayette County, TN

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 16, 9:35 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 4.0 hours before the alert went out and 281 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: 625 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -23 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 946 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 95 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

510 
WFUS54 KMEG 170357
TORMEM
TNC047-170500-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1058 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  FAYETTE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE

* UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT.

* AT 1053 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 9 MILES WEST OF
  PIPERTON...MOVING EAST AT 55 MPH.

* CITIES IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO THROUGH MIDNIGHT CDT INCLUDE...
  PIPERTON...
  ROSSVILLE...
  OAKLAND...
  MOSCOW...WILLISTON...
  SOMERVILLE...
  LAGRANGE...LA GRANGE...

.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.

.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.

.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 3523 8964 3501 8966 3501 8920 3534 8921

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 16, 7:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Tipton	61 min
May 16, 7:39 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Lauderdale	66 min
May 16, 7:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Shelby	40 min
May 16, 8:23 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Haywood	52 min
May 16, 9:00 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Shelby, Tipton	2 hr
May 16, 9:18 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Crockett, Haywood	117 min
May 16, 9:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Haywood	36 min
May 16, 10:10 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Shelby	65 min
May 16, 10:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Carroll	50 min
May 16, 10:33 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Haywood	42 min
May 16, 10:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Tipton	23 min
May 16, 10:59 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Shelby, Tipton	91 min
May 16, 11:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Haywood	46 min
May 16, 11:38 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Crockett	52 min
May 16, 11:42 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Hardeman	63 min
May 17, 12:03 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Haywood, Madison	57 min
May 17, 12:14 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Chester, McNairy	46 min
May 17, 1:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Hardin	45 min
May 17, 5:54 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Shelby	2 hr
May 17, 6:17 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	McNairy	28 min
May 17, 6:45 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Hardin, McNairy	30 min

Nearby

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