Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 70, NWS Memphis, TN

May 5, 2003Weakley County, Tennessee

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at May 5, 2003, 7:48 PM CDT for Weakley County, Tennessee. It was in force for 27 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, 7:48 PM CDT (00:48 UTC)
Expired
May 5, 2003, 8:15 PM CDT
In force
27 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Weakley County, TN

The radar

The Paducah radar (KPAH), 100 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:50 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 5, 2:35 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 186 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 00:00Z on 2003-05-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1533 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 2003-05-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 202 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
1533 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-35 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
824 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
91 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
202 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
115 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.3
Supercell composite
4.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KMEG 060048
TORMEM
TNC183-060115-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN WEAKLEY COUNTY IN NORTHWEST TENNESSEE

* UNTIL 815 PM CDT.

* AT 745 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 4 MILES SOUTH    
  OF GREENFIELD...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH. A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED
  NEAR BRADFORD. 

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  GLEASON AROUND 805 PM CDT

* CITIES IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO THROUGH 815 PM CDT INCLUDE...
  GLEASON...

.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 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 3618 8891 3607 8871 3612 8851 3628 8852

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 5, 7:12 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGGibson33 min
May 5, 7:19 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGCarroll56 min
May 5, 7:22 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningMEGDyer113 min
May 5, 7:30 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGGibson45 min
May 5, 8:01 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGDyer, Obion29 min
May 5, 8:11 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningMEGHenry2 hr
May 6, 1:53 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGFayette, Shelby52 min
May 6, 4:27 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningMEGHardeman, McNairy2 hr
May 6, 4:58 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningMEGFayette, Shelby2 hr
May 6, 5:02 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningMEGHardin118 min
May 6, 6:25 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningMEGHardeman, McNairy95 min
May 6, 6:54 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningMEGHardin66 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.