Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 35, NWS Amarillo, TX

August 15, 1989Deaf Smith County, Texas

NWS Amarillo, TX issued this tornado warning at Aug 15, 1989, 7:02 PM CDT for Deaf Smith County, Texas. It was in force for 43 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Aug 15, 1989, 7:02 PM CDT (00:02 UTC)
Expired
Aug 15, 1989, 7:45 PM CDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Amarillo, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Deaf Smith County, TX

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 15, 7:25 PM CDTHail 2.75Deaf Smith, TX

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 00:00Z, 0.0 hours before the alert went out and 87 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 1989-08-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1162 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 1989-08-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 76 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1162 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-51 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1331 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
76 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
129 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KAMA 160005
TORAMA
TXC117-160045-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
702 PM CDT TUE AUG 15 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  745 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE
          ...EASTERN DEAF SMITH
 
AT 702 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IN AMARILLO WAS
DETECTING A POSSIBLE TORNADO 4 MILES NORTH OF HEREFORD. BASEBALL SIZE
HAIL WAS ALSO REPORTED WITH THIS STORM 12 MILES NORTH OF HEREFORD AT
640 PM CDT.  HEREFORD IS IN THE PROJECTED PATH OF THIS STORM.
 
MOVEMENT IS SOUTH AT 20 MILES AN HOUR.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
TWG

The office that day

Everything else NWS Amarillo, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 15, 7:40 PM CDTTornado WarningAMADallam65 min
Aug 15, 7:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMACastro62 min
Aug 15, 8:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAHartley44 min
Aug 15, 9:00 PM CDTTornado WarningAMAHartley45 min
Aug 16, 6:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMADallam61 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1989Every tornado warning in 1989Tornadoes in 1989

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.