Alert archive / Tennessee / Mesoscale Discussions in 2011

Mesoscale Discussion 939

May 24, 201132 counties in Tennessee; 7 counties in Virginia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at May 24, 2011, 7:46 PM EDT for 32 counties in Tennessee; 7 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 59 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 24, 2011, 7:46 PM EDT (23:46 UTC)
Expired
May 24, 2011, 8:45 PM EDT
In force
59 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 39 counties

Anderson County, TN, Bledsoe County, TN, Blount County, TN, Campbell County, TN, Carter County, TN, Claiborne County, TN, Cocke County, TN, Cumberland County, TN, Fentress County, TN, Grainger County, TN, Greene County, TN, Hamblen County, TN, Hancock County, TN, Hawkins County, TN, Jefferson County, TN, Johnson County, TN, Knox County, TN, Loudon County, TN, Morgan County, TN, Overton County, TN, Pickett County, TN, Putnam County, TN, Rhea County, TN, Roane County, TN, Scott County, TN, Sevier County, TN, Sullivan County, TN, Unicoi County, TN, Union County, TN, Van Buren County, TN, Washington County, TN, White County, TN, City of Bristol, VA, City of Norton, VA, Lee County, VA, Russell County, VA, Scott County, VA, Washington County, VA, Wise County, VA

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:47 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 nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 231 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 2011-05-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 739 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 2011-05-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 181 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
739 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-100 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
768 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
181 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
196 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

831 
ACUS11 KWNS 242346
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 242346 
VAZ000-NCZ000-TNZ000-KYZ000-250045-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0939
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0646 PM CDT TUE MAY 24 2011

AREAS AFFECTED...PORTIONS OF NERN/MIDDLE TN AND FAR SWRN VA

CONCERNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 357...

VALID 242346Z - 250045Z

THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 357
CONTINUES.

AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY EXTENDS E-W ACROSS PORTIONS OF ERN/MIDDLE
TN...WHERE ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE ONGOING.
OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS AND RECENT SURFACE OBSERVATIONS INDICATE NERN TN
AND FAR SWRN VA ARE QUICKLY STABILIZING IN THE WAKE OF AFTERNOON
STORM ACTIVITY. FARTHER W OVER MIDDLE TN...TEMPERATURES REMAIN IN
THE UPPER 70S/LOW 80S...WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 60S CONTRIBUTING
TOWARD MLCAPE VALUES FROM 1000-2000 J/KG. HOWEVER...WITH SHORTWAVE
RIDGING BEGINNING TO OCCUR ACROSS TN...ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY IS QUESTIONABLE.
THEREFORE...MARGINAL SVR WEATHER THREAT /MAINLY LARGE HAIL AND
DAMAGING WINDS/ WILL CONTINUE IN THE SHORT TERM...BEFORE STORMS
WEAKEN DURING THE NEXT FEW HRS AS THE BOUNDARY LAYER COOLS.

..GARNER.. 05/24/2011

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...RNK...RLX...GSP...MRX...JKL...OHX...

LAT...LON   36618525 36578372 37178257 36968233 37208176 36338176
            35768298 35488393 35698470 35368521 35528543 35848569
            36208581 36618525

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 23, 8:47 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBedford, Benton, Cannon, Cheatham, Chester, Clay and 32 more58 min
May 24, 6:24 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Bledsoe, Campbell, Cannon, Claiborne, Clay and 27 more96 min
May 24, 7:01 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAnderson, Bledsoe, Blount, Campbell, Cannon, Carter and 40 more8 hr
May 24, 8:34 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Bledsoe, Blount, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne and 23 more116 min
May 24, 12:55 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Clay, Cumberland, Davidson and 25 more65 min
May 24, 1:57 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAnderson, Bedford, Bledsoe, Blount, Campbell, Cannon and 44 more6 hr
May 24, 3:33 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarter, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan and 2 more87 min
May 24, 4:27 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, Fentress, Grainger and 14 more63 min
May 24, 10:00 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAlleghany, Amherst, Appomattox, Bath, Bedford, Bland and 31 more7 hr
May 24, 12:15 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAmelia, Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Botetourt, Brunswick and 41 more90 min
May 24, 12:42 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAccomack, Albemarle, Amelia, Augusta, Brunswick, Caroline and 66 more5 hr
May 24, 4:43 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCBland, Carroll, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Grayson and 13 more5 hr
May 24, 7:33 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBland, Carroll, Charlotte, Floyd, Franklin, Grayson and 13 more57 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Tennessee, 2011Mesoscale Discussions in Virginia, 2011Every mesoscale discussion in 2011

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.