Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Morristown, TN

May 15, 2003Sevier County, Tennessee

NWS Morristown, TN issued this tornado warning at May 15, 2003, 5:24 PM EDT for Sevier County, Tennessee. It was in force for 51 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 15, 2003, 5:24 PM EDT (21:24 UTC)
Expired
May 15, 2003, 6:15 PM EDT
In force
51 min
Issued by
NWS Morristown, TN
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Sevier County, TN

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 50 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:25 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 15, 4:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 270 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2003-05-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 663 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2003-05-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 30 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
663 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
607 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
30 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
65 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KMRX 152124
TORMRX
TNC155-152215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
522 PM EDT THU MAY 15 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MORRISTOWN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SEVIER COUNTY IN EAST TENNESSEE

* UNTIL 615 PM EDT

* AT 520 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A 
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 3 MILES     
  SOUTHWEST OF SEYMOUR...OR 10 MILES EAST OF ALCOA...MOVING
  SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.  AFTER PASSING THROUGH BLOUNT COUNTY...THIS 
  STORM WILL ENTER SEVIER COUNTY.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SEVIERVILLE AROUND 535 PM EDT
  WEARS VALLEY AROUND 540 PM EDT
  PIGEON FORGE AROUND 545 PM EDT
  ELKMONT AROUND 550 PM EDT
  GATLINBURG AROUND 555 PM EDT
  8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF PITTMAN CENTER AROUND 600 PM EDT

LAT...LON 3597 8365 3571 8327 3556 8354 3558 8360
          3557 8366 3570 8366 3576 8372 3582 8374
          3586 8378 3592 8376

$$

SP

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 3:11 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXMorgan, Scott49 min
May 15, 3:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXMorgan, Scott45 min
May 15, 3:47 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXMorgan, Scott28 min
May 15, 3:54 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXAnderson66 min
May 15, 4:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXAnderson, Knox43 min
May 15, 4:33 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXKnox42 min
May 15, 4:48 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXKnox27 min
May 15, 5:05 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXBlount55 min
May 15, 5:17 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXMorgan43 min
May 15, 5:23 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXKnox37 min
May 15, 5:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXLoudon, Monroe37 min
May 15, 6:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXBlount30 min
May 15, 6:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXSevier33 min
May 15, 6:18 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXMonroe42 min
May 15, 6:28 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXBlount32 min
May 15, 6:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXRoane31 min
May 15, 6:36 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXAnderson, Knox39 min
May 15, 6:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXBlount46 min
May 15, 7:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXSevier47 min
May 15, 7:17 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXLoudon43 min
May 15, 7:35 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXGreene40 min
May 15, 7:39 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXLoudon36 min
May 15, 7:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRXBlount29 min
May 15, 7:49 PM EDTTornado WarningMRXMonroe41 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.