Alert archive / Tennessee / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2004

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 17, NWS Memphis, TN

March 20, 2004Madison County, Tennessee

NWS Memphis, TN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 20, 2004, 2:19 PM CST for Madison County, Tennessee. It was in force for 41 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: Mar 20, 2004, 2:19 PM CST (20:19 UTC)
Expired: Mar 20, 2004, 3:00 PM CST
In force: 41 min
Issued by: NWS Memphis, TN
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Madison County, TN

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Mar 20, 11:50 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 134 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: 320 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -329 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 818 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 107 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 209 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS54 KMEG 202019
SVRMEM
TNC113-202100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
218 PM CST SAT MAR 20 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  MADISON COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE

* UNTIL 300 PM CST

* AT 218 PM CST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR
  ADAIR...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* CITIES IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM THROUGH 300 PM CST INCLUDE...
  JACKSON...
  BEMIS...

.DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM. IF
YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...MOVE INDOORS.

.STAY TUNED TO THIS BROADCAST FOR THE LATEST UPDATES AND INFORMATION.
TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER ONLY...CALL 1 800 4 3 2 0 8 7 5.

LAT...LON 3581 8887 3570 8905 3542 8899 3557 8861

$$

SWC

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Memphis, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Mar 20, 2:15 PM CST, 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 20, 2:15 PM CST, 4 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
215 PM CST SAT MAR 20 2004

.DISCUSSION...
RADAR INDICATES A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM POINSETT COUNTY AR
TO CARROLL COUNTY AR THAT IS MOVING SOUTHEAST. THE LINE SHOULD
SWEEP THROUGH THE REST OF THE MIDSOUTH BEFORE MIDNIGHT. SOME OF
THE STORMS HAVE BEEN SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL. THERE IS A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH OUT UNTIL 6 PM FOR NE AR...THE MO BOOTHEEL...
AND WEST TN.

THE COLD FRONT THAT IS CAUSING THESE SHOWERS WILL MOVE SOUTH OF
THE AREA BY MIDNIGHT. LOW TEMPERATURES ARE GOING TO BE MUCH
COLDER ONCE THE FRONT PASSES THROUGH. FREEZING TEMPERATURES WILL
OCCUR IN THE NORTHERN THIRD OF THE MIDSOUTH SUNDAY NIGHT.

&&

.MEG...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AR...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 6 PM CST.
MS...NONE.
MO...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 6 PM CST.
TN...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 6 PM CST.
&&

WER

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 20, 5:00 AM CST, 9 hours 19 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
500 AM CST SAT MAR 20 2004

ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115-MSZ001>017-
020>024-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>055-088>092-211100-
ALCORN-BENTON-CALHOUN-CARROLL-CHESTER-CHICKASAW-CLAY-COAHOMA-
CRAIGHEAD-CRITTENDEN-CROCKETT-CROSS-DECATUR-DESOTO-DUNKLIN-DYER-
FAYETTE-GIBSON-GREENE-HARDEMAN-HARDIN-HAYWOOD-HENDERSON-HENRY-
ITAWAMBA-LAFAYETTE-LAKE-LAUDERDALE-LAWRENCE-LEE(AR)-LEE(MS)-MADISON-
MARSHALL-MCNAIRY-MISSISSIPPI-MONROE-OBION-PANOLA-PEMISCOT-PHILLIPS-
POINSETT-PONTOTOC-PRENTISS-QUITMAN-RANDOLPH-SHELBY-ST. FRANCIS-
TALLAHATCHIE-TATE-TIPPAH-TIPTON-TISHOMINGO-TUNICA-UNION-WEAKLEY-
YALOBUSHA-
500 AM CST SAT MAR 20 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST ARKANSAS...NORTH
MISSISSIPPI...WEST TENNESSEE AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE MID SOUTH THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT AND
A FEW STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE. THE GREATEST RISK OF SEVERE
STORMS WILL BE ACROSS EAST ARKANSAS...THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...WEST
TENNESSEE AND EXTREME NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI. THE TIME OF GREATEST
THREAT WILL BEGIN FROM 1 PM TO 4 PM ACROSS NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE
MID SOUTH...INCLUDING JONESBORO...DYERSBURG AND PARIS. EXPECT THE
THREAT TO SHIFT SOUTH TO MEMPHIS...BOLIVAR AND SAVANNAH FROM 4
PM TO 7 PM. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE HAIL WITH PERHAPS SOME DAMAGING
WINDS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

THE PROBABILITY OF HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR
FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES. FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION...
CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MEG.

SJM

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 20, 12:28 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Gibson, Obion, Weakley	47 min
Mar 20, 1:12 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Dyer	33 min
Mar 20, 1:31 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Crockett, Gibson	44 min
Mar 20, 3:13 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Dyer, Obion	32 min
Mar 20, 3:40 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Tipton	50 min
Mar 20, 4:25 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Madison	35 min
Mar 20, 4:59 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Shelby	61 min
Mar 20, 5:38 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MEG	Shelby	2 hr
Mar 20, 5:57 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Shelby	48 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Tennessee, 2004 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.