Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 2025

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Morristown, TN

May 20, 2025Bledsoe County, Rhea County, Tennessee

NWS Morristown, TN issued this tornado warning at May 20, 2025, 7:32 PM CDT for Bledsoe County, Rhea County, Tennessee. It was in force for 43 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 20, 2025, 7:32 PM CDT (00:32 UTC)
Expired: May 20, 2025, 8:15 PM CDT
In force: 43 min
Issued by: NWS Morristown, TN
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated
Hail: 1.0 in

Counties Bledsoe County, TN, Rhea County, TN

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 128 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:32 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 20, 2:36 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	8 hr
May 20, 6:27 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 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-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: 735 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1407 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 82 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 124 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.3
Supercell composite: 5.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

094 
WFUS54 KMRX 210032
TORMRX
TNC007-143-210115-
/O.NEW.KMRX.TO.W.0021.250521T0032Z-250521T0115Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Tornado Warning
National Weather Service Morristown TN
832 PM EDT Tue May 20 2025

The National Weather Service in Morristown has issued a

* Tornado Warning for...
  North central Rhea County in east Tennessee...
  Northeastern Bledsoe County in east Tennessee...

* Until 915 PM EDT/815 PM CDT/.

* At 831 PM EDT/731 PM CDT/, a severe thunderstorm capable of
  producing a tornado was located 8 miles east of Spencer, moving
  east at 30 mph.

  HAZARD...Tornado and quarter size hail.

  SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.

  IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without 
           shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. 
           Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur.  Tree 
           damage is likely.

* This tornadic thunderstorm will remain over mainly rural areas of
  north central Rhea and northeastern Bledsoe Counties, including the
  following locations... Melvine, Stinging Fork Falls State Park, and
  Piney Falls State Park.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest
floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a
mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter
and protect yourself from flying debris.

&&

LAT...LON 3572 8526 3575 8527 3575 8526 3576 8527
      3577 8525 3577 8510 3576 8507 3577 8504
      3575 8503 3577 8494 3576 8492 3578 8490
      3580 8484 3567 8484 3570 8528
TIME...MOT...LOC 0031Z 267DEG 26KT 3576 8530 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...1.00 IN

$$

DH

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 20, 7:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Bledsoe, Hamilton, Meigs, Rhea, Sequatchie	50 min
May 20, 7:46 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MRX	Morgan, Rhea, Roane	59 min
May 20, 8:02 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MRX	Bledsoe	43 min
May 20, 8:09 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MRX	McMinn, Meigs, Rhea	33 min
May 20, 8:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Anderson, Campbell, Morgan, Roane, Scott	61 min
May 20, 8:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Anderson, Blount, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane	65 min
May 20, 8:41 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe	49 min
May 20, 8:59 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MRX	Anderson, Knox, Sevier	46 min
May 20, 9:05 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MRX	Loudon, Roane	40 min
May 20, 9:13 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MRX	Monroe	47 min
May 20, 9:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, Knox, Union	49 min
May 20, 9:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MRX	Blount, Cocke, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox and 1 more	62 min
May 20, 9:29 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MRX	Monroe, Polk	46 min
May 20, 9:36 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	MRX	Anderson, Knox, Morgan, Roane	3 hr
May 20, 9:37 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MRX	Blount	53 min
May 20, 9:47 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MRX	Blount, Sevier	43 min
May 20, 9:58 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MRX	Grainger, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins	47 min
May 20, 10:44 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MRX	Cocke, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Unicoi, Washington	46 min
May 20, 11:52 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MRX	Sullivan	38 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Tennessee, 2025 Every tornado warning in 2025 Tornadoes in 2025

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.