Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 2003
Tornado Warning 4, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Apr 20, 2003, 6:47 PM CDT for Lauderdale County, Tennessee. It was in force for 28 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
- Apr 20, 2003, 6:47 PM CDT (23:47 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 20, 2003, 7:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 28 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Lauderdale 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 20, 1:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 109 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 339 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -53 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 777 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 128 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 147 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.3
- Supercell composite
- 1.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
874 WFUS54 KMEG 202347 TORMEM TNC097-210015- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 647 PM CDT SUN APR 20 2003 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... LAUDERDALE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE * UNTIL 715 PM CDT. * AT 644 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 7 MILES WEST OF RIPLEY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. * CITIES IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO THROUGH 715 PM CDT INCLUDE... RIPLEY... EDITH... .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. .HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF GOLFBALLS IS ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. .STAY TUNED TO THIS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROADCAST FOR THE LATEST UPDATES AND INFORMATION. TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER ONLY...CALL 1 800 4 3 2 0 8 7 5. LAT...LON 3575 8980 3562 8965 3581 8940 3595 8957
The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 20, 3:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Shelby | 40 min |
| Apr 20, 3:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Fayette | 49 min |
| Apr 20, 3:38 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Fayette | 52 min |
| Apr 20, 3:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Haywood, Lauderdale | 62 min |
| Apr 20, 4:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Hardeman | 42 min |
| Apr 20, 4:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Crockett, Gibson | 38 min |
| Apr 20, 4:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Fayette | 16 min |
| Apr 20, 4:52 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Haywood | 38 min |
| Apr 20, 4:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | McNairy | 52 min |
| Apr 20, 5:00 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Carroll, Weakley | 30 min |
| Apr 20, 5:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Hardin | 38 min |
| Apr 20, 5:34 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Henry | 26 min |
| Apr 20, 5:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Carroll | 37 min |
| Apr 20, 5:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Tipton | 48 min |
| Apr 20, 6:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Lauderdale | 23 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.