Alert archive / Wyoming / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Cheyenne, WY

August 14, 1989Platte County, Wyoming

NWS Cheyenne, WY issued this tornado warning at Aug 14, 1989, 4:44 PM MDT for Platte County, Wyoming. It was in force for 26 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 14, 1989, 4:44 PM MDT (22:44 UTC)
Expired
Aug 14, 1989, 5:10 PM MDT
In force
26 min
Issued by
NWS Cheyenne, WY
Area
Whole counties

County Platte County, WY

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

Rapid City, SD (KRAP), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 274 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, Rapid City, SD at 12:00Z on 1989-08-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 63 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, Rapid City, SD at 12:00Z on 1989-08-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -9 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
63 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-130 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
822 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-9 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
79 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCYS 142244
TORCYS
WYC031-142330-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
444 PM MDT MON AUG 14 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHEYENNE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  530 PM MDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTHEAST WYOMING
          ...CENTRAL PLATTE
 
AT 433 PM...A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED 5 MILES WEST OF WHEATLAND.
THE FUNNEL CLOUD WAS MOVING NORTHEAST TOWARD THE TOWN OF WHEATLAND.
THE STORM ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FUNNEL WILL PASS THROUGH THE
TOWN OF WHEATLAND BY 450 PM.
 
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 BASEMENTD 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.
SIGLER

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, Aug 14, 12:50 PM MDT, 3 hours 54 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
1250 PM MDT MON AUG 14 1989

...THUNDERSTORMS INCREASING OVER THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF WYOMING...

SALT LAKE RADAR REPORTED AN INCREASE IN THUNDERSTORMS OVER UINTA COUNTY
OF SOUTHWEST WYOMING.  AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE UPSTREAM APPROACHING
THE STATE WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS NORTHEAST
INTO SOUTHWEST WYOMING AND EAST ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN WYOMING
THIS AFTERNON AND TONIGHT.

SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS...BRIEF
HEAVY RAINS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLY SMALL HAIL UNTIL SUNSET.

LOCAL FLOODING OF SOME CREEKS AND SMALL STREAMS IS POSSIBLE OVER THE
SOUTHWEST CORNER WHERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MORE NUMEROUS.  IF FLOOD
WATERS THREATEN...CLIMB TO HIGHER GROUND.  LIGHTNING IS A KNOWN KILLER
...SO BE ALERT AND MOVE INDOORS WHEN THREATENED.
LAUZE
Special weather statement, Aug 14, 2:17 PM MDT, 2 hours 27 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
216 PM MDT MON AUG 14 1989

...THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED IN SOUTHEAST WYOMING...

THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER SOUTHEASTERN WYOMING THIS AFTERNOON.
AT 2 PM THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE 25 MILES WEST OF CHEYENNE.  ANOTHER
AREA WAS 50 MILES NORTHWEST OF CHEYENNE.  THEY WERE MOVING EAST ABOUT
20 MILES AN HOUR.

THESE STORMS MAY PRODUCE HAIL...STRONG WINDS...AND BRIEF HEAVY JRAINS.
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER.
CGB
Special weather statement, Aug 14, 2:24 PM MDT, 2 hours 20 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
216 PM MDT MON AUG 14 1989

...THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED IN SOUTHEAST WYOMING...

THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER SOUTHEASTERN WYOMING THIS AFTERNOON.
AT 2 PM THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE 25 MILES WEST OF CHEYENNE.  ANOTHER
AREA WAS 50 MILES NORTHWEST OF CHEYENNE.  THEY WERE MOVING EAST ABOUT
20 MILES AN HOUR.

THESE STORMS MAY PRODUCE HAIL...STRONG WINDS...AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINS.
DLANGEROUS LIGHTNING CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER.
CGB
Special weather statement, Aug 14, 2:51 PM MDT, 1 hour 53 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
250 PM MDT MON AUG 14 1989

...THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS PARTS OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING...

THUNDERSTORMS HAVE CONTINUED TO DEVELOP OVER THE LARAMIE RANGE.  AT
245 PM THE STRONGEST STORMS EXTENDED FROM ABOUT 25 MILES WEST OF
CHEYENNE TO 50 MILES NORTHWEST OF CHEYENNE...OR ABOUT 15 MILES WEST
OF THE TOWN OF CHUGWATER.  THEY WERE MOVING EAST AROUND 25 MILES AN
HOUR.

THESE STORVMS MAY PRODUCE HAIL...STRONG WINDS...AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINS.
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED.

BE ON THE ALERT FOR THREATENING WEATHER...AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE
SHELTER IF NECESSARY.
CGB
Special weather statement, Aug 14, 4:17 PM MDT, 27 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SCOTTSBLUFF NE
415 PM MDT MON AUG 14 1989

AT 413 PM MDT...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE JUST ENTERING THE
NEBRASKA PANHANDLE FROM WYOMING. THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE 20 MILES
WEST OF SCOTTSBLUFF...SOUTH OF STEGALL...AND 23 MILES WEST OF
SCOTTSBLUFF ON THE STATELINE...SOUTHWEST OF STEGALL. THESE STORMS WERE
MOVING EAST BETWEEN 15 AND 20 MILES AN HOUR.

HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...AND SMALL HAIL MAY ACCOMPANY THESE
STORMS ACROSS SCOTTS BLUFF AND NORTHERN BANNER COUNTIES OF THE NEBRASKA
PANHANDLE UNTIL 530 PM MDT.

ANOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 45 MILES NORTH OF CHADRON
NEBRASKA...NEAR HOT SPRINGS SOUTH DAKOTA. THIS STORM WAS MOVING
SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST AROUND 20 MILES AN HOUR AND MAY ENTER DAWES AND
SHERIDAN COUNTIES AROUND 6PM MDT.
PFEIFFER

The office that day

Everything else NWS Cheyenne, WY issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 14, 3:21 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSGoshen, Platte39 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Wyoming, 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.