Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 251
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 5, 2003, 9:35 AM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 5, 2003, 9:35 AM CDT (14:35 UTC)
- Expired
- May 5, 2003, 3:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 109 counties
Colbert County, AL, Cullman County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Franklin County, AL, Greene County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Lauderdale County, AL, Lawrence County, AL, Limestone County, AL, Madison County, AL, Marion County, AL, Morgan County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL, Winston County, AL, Calloway County, KY, Fulton County, KY, Alcorn County, MS, Attala County, MS, Benton County, MS, Calhoun County, MS, Carroll County, MS, Chickasaw County, MS, Choctaw County, MS, Clay County, MS, DeSoto County, MS, Grenada County, MS, Holmes County, MS, Humphreys County, MS, Itawamba County, MS, Lafayette County, MS, Lee County, MS, Leflore County, MS, Lowndes County, MS, Marshall County, MS, Monroe County, MS, Montgomery County, MS, Noxubee County, MS, Oktibbeha County, MS, Panola County, MS, Pontotoc County, MS, Prentiss County, MS, Quitman County, MS, Sharkey County, MS, Sunflower County, MS, Tallahatchie County, MS, Tate County, MS, Tippah County, MS, Tishomingo County, MS, Union County, MS, Washington County, MS, Webster County, MS, Winston County, MS, Yalobusha County, MS, Bedford County, TN, Benton County, TN, Cannon County, TN, Carroll County, TN, Cheatham County, TN, Chester County, TN, Clay County, TN, Coffee County, TN, Crockett County, TN, Davidson County, TN, Decatur County, TN, DeKalb County, TN, Dickson County, TN, Dyer County, TN, Fayette County, TN, Franklin County, TN, Gibson County, TN, Giles County, TN, Hardeman County, TN, Hardin County, TN, Haywood County, TN, Henderson County, TN, Henry County, TN, Hickman County, TN, Houston County, TN, Humphreys County, TN, Jackson County, TN, Lake County, TN, Lauderdale County, TN, Lawrence County, TN, Lewis County, TN, Lincoln County, TN, Macon County, TN, Madison County, TN, Marshall County, TN, Maury County, TN, McNairy County, TN, Montgomery County, TN, Moore County, TN, Obion County, TN, Perry County, TN, Robertson County, TN, Rutherford County, TN, Shelby County, TN, Smith County, TN, Stewart County, TN, Sumner County, TN, Tipton County, TN, Trousdale County, TN, Warren County, TN, Wayne County, TN, Weakley County, TN, Williamson County, TN, Wilson County, TN
Warnings issued inside it
53 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 9:39 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Grenada | 46 min |
| May 5, 9:44 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX | Wayne | 46 min |
| May 5, 9:45 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Bolivar, Leflore, Sunflower | 45 min |
| May 5, 9:57 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Hardin | 33 min |
| May 5, 10:03 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX | Lawrence, Wayne | 42 min |
| May 5, 10:17 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Tallahatchie | 28 min |
| May 5, 10:19 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Yalobusha | 41 min |
| May 5, 10:20 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX | Giles | 40 min |
| May 5, 10:32 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Carroll, Grenada, Leflore, Montgomery, Webster | 43 min |
| May 5, 10:43 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | OHX | Giles, Lawrence | 47 min |
| May 5, 11:01 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | OHX | Lincoln, Marshall, Moore | 44 min |
| May 5, 11:08 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Clay, Lowndes, Oktibbeha | 47 min |
| May 5, 11:13 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Webster | 32 min |
| May 5, 11:25 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Webster | 20 min |
| May 5, 11:37 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar | 38 min |
| May 5, 11:38 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN | Franklin, Lawrence | 22 min |
| May 5, 11:46 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX | Bedford, Marshall | 44 min |
| May 5, 11:49 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | OHX | Franklin, Lincoln, Moore | 41 min |
| May 5, 12:09 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | OHX | Bedford | 81 min |
| May 5, 12:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN | Limestone, Morgan | 17 min |
| May 5, 12:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN | Madison | 26 min |
| May 5, 12:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pickens | 37 min |
| May 5, 12:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX | Davidson, Rutherford, Williamson | 51 min |
| May 5, 12:31 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OHX | Coffee, Franklin, Grundy | 59 min |
| May 5, 12:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN | Madison | 35 min |
| May 5, 12:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN | Cullman, Morgan | 34 min |
| May 5, 1:04 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX | Smith, Wilson | 26 min |
| May 5, 1:10 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HUN | Cullman | 20 min |
| May 5, 1:10 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Crockett, Gibson | 50 min |
| May 5, 1:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX | Wayne | 54 min |
| May 5, 1:27 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Madison | 33 min |
| May 5, 1:28 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Tipton | 32 min |
| May 5, 1:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Haywood, Lauderdale | 26 min |
| May 5, 1:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN | Lauderdale | 37 min |
| May 5, 1:41 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Carroll, Henderson | 64 min |
| May 5, 1:48 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OHX | Benton | 57 min |
| May 5, 1:50 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Tipton | 40 min |
| May 5, 1:52 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX | Rutherford, Williamson | 38 min |
| May 5, 1:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Crockett | 49 min |
| May 5, 1:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Bolivar, Sunflower | 61 min |
| May 5, 2:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN | Limestone | 29 min |
| May 5, 2:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Gibson | 40 min |
| May 5, 2:26 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Haywood | 34 min |
| May 5, 2:29 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OHX | Cheatham, Davidson, Williamson | 46 min |
| May 5, 2:31 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Decatur | 29 min |
| May 5, 2:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Henry | 43 min |
| May 5, 2:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX | Dickson, Humphreys | 52 min |
| May 5, 2:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OHX | Perry | 47 min |
| May 5, 2:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Weakley | 30 min |
| May 5, 2:45 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OHX | Montgomery | 30 min |
| May 5, 2:49 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Madison | 41 min |
| May 5, 2:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX | Hickman | 36 min |
| May 5, 2:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX | Stewart | 35 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 111 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
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 051436
SEL1
SPC WW 051435
ALZ000-MSZ000-TNZ000-052000-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 251
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
935 AM CDT MON MAY 5 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
EASTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA
NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI
WESTERN AND MIDDLE TENNESSEE
EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 935 AM UNTIL 300
PM CDT.
...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...
DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...
THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE
POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 115 STATUTE MILES EAST AND
WEST OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES NORTHWEST OF NASHVILLE TENNESSEE TO
65 MILES SOUTHEAST OF GREENWOOD MISSISSIPPI.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 247. WATCH NUMBER 247 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 935
AM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 246...WW 249...WW 250...
DISCUSSION...THOUGH SHORTWAVE RIDGING WILL BUILD ACROSS WW THIS
AFTERNOON...WARM SECTOR AIR MASS WILL BECOME VERY UNSTABLE AND
WEAKLY CAPPED. IN ADDITION...SHEAR PROFILES ARE RATHER STRONG AND
MORE THAN SUFFICIENT FOR TORNADIC SUPERCELLS ONCE STORMS BECOME MORE
SURFACE-BASED. ANY TORNADO WHICH CAN OCCUR WILL HAVE
STRONG/DAMAGING POTENTIAL GIVEN THE POTENT COMBINATION OF
SHEAR...INSTABILITY AND LOW LCLS OVER THE REGION.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27035.
...EVANS
363,0851 324,0871 324,0911 363,0892SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 4:18 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Colbert, Lauderdale | 57 min |
| May 5, 4:55 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison and 1 more | 6 hr |
| May 5, 6:07 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | DeKalb, Jackson, Marshall | 83 min |
| May 5, 6:15 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | DeKalb, Jackson, Marshall | 3 hr |
| May 5, 7:11 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Colbert, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone and 2 more | 2 hr |
| May 5, 8:50 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton and 13 more | 6 hr |
| May 5, 9:05 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Colbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Hale and 13 more | 115 min |
| May 5, 10:38 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bibb, Blount, Colbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin and 15 more | 3 hr |
| May 5, 11:06 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bibb, Colbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin, Greene and 12 more | 114 min |
| May 5, 12:52 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bibb, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay and 11 more | 113 min |
| May 5, 2:13 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton and 32 more | 62 min |
| May 5, 2:35 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bibb, Blount, Colbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin and 15 more | 7 hr |
| May 5, 5:40 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne and 26 more | 2 hr |
| May 4, 7:34 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Fulton and 7 more | 116 min |
| May 4, 9:26 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden and 15 more | 2 hr |
| May 4, 10:40 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Crittenden, Daviess, Henderson, Hopkins, McLean, Ohio and 2 more | 5 hr |
| May 4, 11:37 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Boyle, Breckinridge and 38 more | 23 min |
| May 4, 11:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Bourbon, Boyle and 44 more | 5 hr |
| May 5, 1:20 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Fulton and 7 more | 6 hr |
| May 5, 1:30 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Crittenden, Daviess, Henderson, Hopkins, McLean, Ohio and 2 more | 90 min |
| May 5, 2:31 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Bath, Bourbon and 55 more | 89 min |
| May 5, 3:41 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden and 13 more | 34 min |
| May 5, 3:50 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden and 16 more | 6 hr |
| May 5, 6:32 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden and 16 more | 88 min |
| May 5, 7:35 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Bath, Bell and 69 more | 5 hr |
| May 5, 9:19 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Ballard, Caldwell, Carlisle, Crittenden, Graves, Henderson and 10 more | 56 min |
| May 5, 10:12 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Bell, Boyle and 58 more | 93 min |
| May 5, 11:59 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Bell, Boyle and 65 more | 61 min |
| May 5, 12:20 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Bath, Bourbon and 73 more | 7 hr |
| May 5, 2:47 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Bath, Bourbon and 68 more | 118 min |
| May 5, 4:42 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Boone, Boyd, Bracken, Campbell, Carter, Fleming and 12 more | 3 hr |
| May 5, 5:15 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bracken, Campbell, Grant, Greenup, Kenton, Lewis and 4 more | 5 hr |
| May 5, 6:33 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Bath, Bourbon and 69 more | 57 min |
| May 5, 6:47 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bath, Bourbon, Boyd, Bracken, Campbell, Carter and 15 more | 88 min |
| May 5, 9:56 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bolivar | 2 hr |
| May 5, 3:25 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bolivar, Coahoma, Tunica | 7 hr |
| May 5, 3:15 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Anderson, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Claiborne and 25 more | 6 hr |
| May 5, 5:18 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dyer, Lake, Lauderdale | 117 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 2003Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2003Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2003Every tornado watch 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.