Alert archive / Kentucky / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Jackson, KY

May 26, 2004Harlan County, Kentucky

NWS Jackson, KY issued this tornado warning at May 26, 2004, 4:53 PM EDT for Harlan County, Kentucky. It was in force for 22 min. 4 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 26, 2004, 4:53 PM EDT (20:53 UTC)
Expired: May 26, 2004, 5:15 PM EDT
In force: 22 min
Issued by: NWS Jackson, KY
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Harlan County, KY

The radar

The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 76 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:55 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 26, 5:00 PM EDT	TSTM WND DMG	Benham, KY	SEVERAL TREES DOWN.
May 26, 5:00 PM EDT	TSTM WND DMG	Cumberland, KY	SEVERAL TREES DOWN. POWER POLE SNAPPED IN HALF.
May 26, 5:00 PM EDT	TSTM WND DMG	Lynch, KY	SEVERAL TREES DOWN.
May 26, 5:20 PM EDT	TORNADO	8 Nw Big Stone Gap, KY	POSSIBLE TORNADO TOUCHDOWN IN THE ROAD AREA WITH LOTS OF DAMAGE AND DEBRIS.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 26, 2:50 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	7 hr
May 26, 4:25 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 284 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 318 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -97 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 632 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 41 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 112 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.

763 
WFUS53 KJKL 262053
TORJKL
KYC095-262115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY
453 PM EDT WED MAY 26 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON KY
HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  HARLAN COUNTY IN KENTUCKY.

* UNTIL 515 PM EDT.

* AT 453 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH
  A LIKELY TORNADO NEAR CHAD...OR 14 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WHITESBURG...
  MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  LYNCH AROUND 500 PM EDT.
  BIG BLACK MOUNTAIN AROUND 505 PM EDT.

FOR YOUR SAFETY MOVE TO A BASEMENT AND GET UNDER SOMETHING STURDY. IF
NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...MOVE TO THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE
BUILDING...IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN A DITCH
AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3701 8311 3690 8312 3687 8286 3698 8286

$$

HEINLEIN

The office that day

Everything else NWS Jackson, KY issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 25, 11:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Pike	30 min
May 26, 2:28 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Bath, Montgomery	47 min
May 26, 2:43 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Fleming	32 min
May 26, 2:59 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Rowan	46 min
May 26, 3:28 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Pulaski	47 min
May 26, 3:33 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Laurel	42 min
May 26, 3:37 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Rockcastle	38 min
May 26, 3:52 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Jackson	38 min
May 26, 4:02 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	McCreary, Whitley	43 min
May 26, 4:05 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Clay	40 min
May 26, 4:13 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Leslie	47 min
May 26, 4:15 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	JKL	Laurel	15 min
May 26, 4:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Knox	44 min
May 26, 4:28 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Bell	47 min
May 26, 4:33 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Harlan	42 min
May 26, 4:46 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Letcher	44 min
May 26, 5:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JKL	Whitley	45 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kentucky, 2004 Every tornado warning in 2004 Tornadoes in 2004

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.