Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Charleston, SC

October 2, 1989Berkeley County, South Carolina

NWS Charleston, SC issued this tornado warning at Oct 2, 1989, 12:13 AM EDT for Berkeley County, South Carolina. It was in force for 62 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 2, 1989, 12:13 AM EDT (04:13 UTC)
Expired
Oct 2, 1989, 1:15 AM EDT
In force
62 min
Issued by
NWS Charleston, SC
Area
Whole counties

County Berkeley County, SC

The radar

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

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 00:00Z, 4.2 hours before the alert went out and 33 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 00:00Z on 1989-10-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 694 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 00:00Z on 1989-10-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 106 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
694 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-34 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
789 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
106 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
185 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
2.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCHS 020413 RRA
TORCHS
SCC015-020515-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
1213 AM EDT MON OCT 2 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  115 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN  SOUTH CAROLINA
          ...BERKELEY
 
AT 12:01 EDT RADAR INDICATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER BERKELEY
COUNTY MOVING TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST AT 25 TO 30 MILES AN HOUR.
 
PUBLIC AND EMS UNITS CONFIRMED A TORNADO OVER HIGHWAY 176 IN THE
VICINITY OF THE TOWN OF LEBANON.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

What forecasters said that day

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

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Oct 1, 8:44 PM EDT, 3 hours 29 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON, SC
838 PM EDT SUN OCT 01 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3AM FOR THE COASTAL COUNTIES
   OF SOUTH CAROLINA...

AT 8.30 PM EDT...RAIN WITH SOME THUNDERSTORMS EMBEDDED IN IT COVERED
MOST OF THE PIEDMONT...MIDLANDS AND NORTH COASTAL COUNTIES OF SOUTH
CAROLINA...AND EXTENDED INTO AREAS OF NORTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.

SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE ACCOMPANIED BY VERY HEAVY RAIN AND
THESE WERE LOCATED NORTH OF BARNWELL SOUTH CAROLINA AND EAST OF
SYLVANIA GEORGIA.

MOVEMENT WAS TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST AT 25 TO 30 MILES AN HOUR.

SAM
Special weather statement, Oct 1, 9:39 PM EDT, 2 hours 34 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON, SC
933 PM EDT SUN OCT 01 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3AM FOR THE COASTAL COUNTIES
   OF SOUTH CAROLINA...

AT 9.30 PM EDT...THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE OCCURRING
OVER SOUTHEASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA AND EASTERN GEORGIA...THE STORMS
WERE LOCATED FROM BAMBERG SOUTH CAROLINA SOUTHWARDS TO SAVANNAH
GEORGIA.

RAIN COVERED MOST OF SOUTH CAROLINA FROM& THE FOOTHILLS TO THE COAST
AND EXTENDED INTO AREAS OF NORTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.

ALL MOVEMENT WAS TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST AT 25 TO 30 MILES AN HOUR.

SAM
Special weather statement, Oct 1, 10:36 PM EDT, 1 hour 37 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON, SC
1032 PM EDT SUN OCT 01 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3AM FOR THE COASTAL COUNTIES
   OF SOUTH CAROLINA...

AT 10.30 PM EDT...THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE IN
PROGRESS IN THE BEAUFORT/HILTON HEAD AREA...AND ALSO FROM NEAR
ORANGEBURG TO JUST NORTH OF WALTERBORO.

RAIN CONTINUED OVER MOST PORTIONS OF THE PIEDMONT...MIDLANDS AND
COASTAL COUNTIES OF SOUTH CAROLINA_ EXTENDING WELL INTO SOUTHEAST
NORTH CAROLINA AND COASTAL GEORGIA.

ALL MOVEMENT WAS TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST AT 25 TO 30 MILES AN HOUR.

SAM
Special weather statement, Oct 1, 11:36 PM EDT, 37 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON, SC
1131 PM EDT SUN OCT 01 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3AM FOR THE COASTAL COUNTIES
   OF SOUTH CAROLINA...

AT 11.30 PM EDT...THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE OCCURRING
OVER THE SOUTHERN COASTAL COUNTIES FROM LAKE MARION TO EDISTO BEACH
AND HUNTING ISLAND. AS THESE THUNDERSTORMS MOVE NORTHEAST AT 25 TO
30 MILES AN HOUR THEY CAN PRODUCE BRIEF GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY DOWNPOURS
...SOME LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLE FLOODING OF STREETS AND LOW LYING AREAS.

ELSEWHERE...RAIN CONTINUED OVER MOST OF SOUTH CAROLINA FROM THE
PIEDMNONT TO THE COAST AND EXTENDED INTO NORTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.

ALL MOVEMENT WAS TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST AT 25 TO 30 MILES AN HOUR.

SAM
Special weather statement, Oct 1, 11:38 PM EDT, 35 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON, SC
1138 PM EDT SUN OCT 01 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3AM FOR THE COASTAL COUNTIES
   OF SOUTH CAROLINA...

AT 11.30 PM EDT...THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE OCCURRING
OVER THE SOUTHERN COASTAL COUNTIES FROM LAKE MARION TO EDISTO BEACH
AND HUNTING ISLAND. AS THESE THUNDERSTORMS MOVE NORTHEAST AT 25 TO
30 MILES AN HOUR THEY CAN PRODUCE BRIEF GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY DOWNPOURS
...SOME LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLE FLOODING OF STREETS AND LOW LYING AREAS.

ELSEWHERE...RAIN CONTINUED OVER MOST OF SOUTH CAROLINA FROM THE
PIEDMNONT TO THE COAST AND EXTENDED INTO NORTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.

ALL MOVEMENT WAS TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST AT 25 TO 30 MILES AN HOUR.

SAM

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.