Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 40, NWS Memphis, TN

May 5, 2003Fayette County, Tennessee; Benton County, Mississippi

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at May 5, 2003, 7:38 AM CDT for Fayette County, Tennessee; Benton County, Mississippi. It was in force for 37 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 5, 2003, 7:38 AM CDT (12:38 UTC)
Expired
May 5, 2003, 8:15 AM CDT
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Benton County, MS, Fayette County, TN

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 5, 4:55 AM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 66 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 2003-05-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2211 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 2003-05-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 117 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
2211 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-81 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
850 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
66 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
117 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
156 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
4.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KMEG 051238
TORMEM
MSC009-TNC047-051315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
738 AM CDT MON MAY 5 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN BENTON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI
  SOUTHERN FAYETTE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE

* UNTIL 815 AM CDT.

* AT 735 AM CDT...WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 3 MILES NORTHWEST
  OF MICHIGAN CITY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 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.

.HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF *EDIT HAIL SIZE* 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 3460 8928 3483 8928 3508 8938 3515 8921
          3501 8921 3499 8902 3482 8908 3462 8908
          3460 8928 3483 8928 3508 8936

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 4, 7:57 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGDyer, Lake63 min
May 4, 8:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLauderdale26 min
May 4, 8:12 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGDyer, Lauderdale48 min
May 4, 8:25 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGObion65 min
May 4, 8:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLauderdale32 min
May 4, 9:03 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGDyer, Gibson27 min
May 4, 9:13 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGLauderdale47 min
May 4, 9:20 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGWeakley55 min
May 4, 9:27 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGDyer63 min
May 4, 10:05 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGHenry40 min
May 4, 10:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCrockett, Gibson52 min
May 4, 10:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGTipton47 min
May 4, 10:13 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGLauderdale47 min
May 4, 10:28 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGDyer, Gibson47 min
May 4, 10:38 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGWeakley37 min
May 4, 10:45 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGGibson30 min
May 4, 10:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHaywood43 min
May 4, 10:48 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGHenry12 min
May 4, 10:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCrockett48 min
May 4, 11:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGTipton27 min
May 4, 11:13 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGWeakley32 min
May 4, 11:13 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGHaywood, Madison47 min
May 4, 11:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCarroll, Gibson47 min
May 4, 11:29 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGHenry46 min
May 4, 11:35 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGCarroll40 min
May 4, 11:47 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGHenderson43 min
May 5, 12:15 AM CDTTornado WarningMEGDecatur30 min
May 5, 1:36 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningMEGCarroll, Henderson, Madison114 min
May 5, 3:47 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGTipton43 min
May 5, 5:08 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHardeman37 min
May 5, 7:34 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGFayette26 min
May 5, 7:39 AM CDTTornado WarningMEGFayette36 min
May 5, 7:49 AM CDTTornado WarningMEGHardeman41 min
May 5, 8:39 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGDecatur21 min
May 5, 8:57 AM CDTTornado WarningMEGHardin, McNairy63 min
May 5, 9:57 AM CDTTornado WarningMEGHardin33 min
May 5, 1:10 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGCrockett, Gibson50 min
May 5, 1:27 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGMadison33 min
May 5, 1:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGTipton32 min
May 5, 1:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHaywood, Lauderdale26 min
May 5, 1:41 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGCarroll, Henderson64 min
May 5, 1:50 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGTipton40 min
May 5, 1:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCrockett49 min
May 5, 2:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGGibson40 min
May 5, 2:26 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGHaywood34 min
May 5, 2:31 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGDecatur29 min
May 5, 2:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHenry43 min
May 5, 2:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGWeakley30 min
May 5, 2:49 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGMadison41 min
May 5, 3:15 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGChester, Henderson45 min
May 5, 3:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLauderdale26 min
May 5, 3:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGDyer51 min
May 5, 3:39 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGDecatur36 min
May 5, 3:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGGibson, Obion44 min
May 5, 4:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGObion46 min
May 5, 5:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGObion48 min
May 5, 5:27 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGDyer48 min
May 5, 5:38 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGLauderdale52 min
May 5, 5:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLake48 min
May 5, 6:14 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGCrockett46 min
May 5, 6:20 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGDyer20 min
May 5, 6:30 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGGibson45 min
May 5, 3:23 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGDeSoto, Tunica52 min
May 5, 3:59 AM CDTTornado WarningMEGDeSoto31 min
May 5, 4:17 AM CDTTornado WarningMEGMarshall43 min
May 5, 4:51 AM CDTTornado WarningMEGBenton39 min
May 5, 6:17 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGTunica28 min
May 5, 6:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGDeSoto43 min
May 5, 7:15 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGMarshall30 min
May 5, 8:02 AM CDTTornado WarningMEGTippah28 min
May 5, 8:27 AM CDTTornado WarningMEGAlcorn63 min
May 5, 10:17 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGTallahatchie28 min
May 5, 10:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGYalobusha41 min
May 5, 3:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCalhoun28 min
May 5, 3:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCalhoun25 min
May 5, 4:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGTallahatchie49 min
May 5, 4:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCalhoun, Chickasaw46 min
May 5, 4:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCoahoma28 min
May 5, 5:05 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGCoahoma, Quitman25 min
May 5, 5:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCalhoun42 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Tennessee, 2003Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 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.