Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Kansas City, MO

May 24, 1989Jackson County, Missouri

NWS Kansas City, MO issued this tornado warning at May 24, 1989, 9:31 PM CDT for Jackson County, Missouri. It was in force for 44 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: May 24, 1989, 9:31 PM CDT (02:31 UTC)
Expired: May 24, 1989, 10:15 PM CDT
In force: 44 min
Issued by: NWS Kansas City, MO
Area: Whole counties

County Jackson County, MO

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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 24, 10:00 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Jackson, MO

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

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 112 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: 3587 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -25 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1498 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 93 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 125 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.8
Supercell composite: 8.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMCI 250232
TORMCI
MOC095-250315-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY MISSOURI
931 PM CDT WED MAY 24 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN KANSAS CITY MISSOURI HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1015 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN NORTHWEST MISSOURI
          ...JACKSON
 
AT 927 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO AT THE INTERSECTION
OF WYANDOTTE-LEAVENWORTH-AND JOHNSON COUNTIES IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA
OF KANSAS CITY. THIS STORM IS MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH. ALL JACKSON
COUNTY RESIDENTS WITHIN THE KANSAS CITY METROPOLITAN AREA TAKE COVER
NOW.
 
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 DITCH OR CULVERT.
 
t

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, May 24, 8:37 PM CDT, 54 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT MO
835PM CDT WED MAY 24 1989

...TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTHEASTERN HARRISON AND MERCER
   COUNTY...IN NORTHCENTRAL MISSOURI...UNTIL 9PM...

AT 830 PM INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER NORTHERN HARRISON AND
NORTHERN MERCER COUNTIES...IN MISSOURI.  THE STORMS WERE MOVING
EAST SOUTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.

PERSONS IN NORTHEAST HARRISON AND MERCER COUNTIES INCLUDING THE TOWNS
OF SALINE AND MERCER SHOULD MOVE TO SAFE SHELTER AND PREPARE FOR
SEVERE WEATHER.  THESE ARE DANGEROUS STORMS.

AT 820PM TWO FUNNEL CLOUDS WERE REPORTED IN THE VICINITY OF
EAGLEVILLE...IN NORTHERN HARRISON COUNTY.

SCHILLING

The office that day

Everything else NWS Kansas City, MO issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 24, 8:09 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Harrison, Mercer	51 min
May 24, 9:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Caldwell	58 min
May 24, 9:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Linn	66 min
May 24, 10:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Cass, Johnson	68 min
May 24, 10:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Lafayette	68 min
May 24, 10:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Chariton	45 min
May 24, 11:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Pettis	38 min
May 24, 11:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Henry	66 min
May 25, 6:51 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Clay	39 min
May 25, 7:08 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Ray	52 min
May 25, 7:24 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Carroll, Lafayette	46 min
May 25, 7:25 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Pettis, Saline	65 min
May 25, 7:57 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Cooper, Howard	63 min
May 25, 8:30 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Boone, Moniteau	60 min
May 25, 8:49 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Callaway, Cole	56 min
May 25, 8:49 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Audrain	56 min
May 25, 9:45 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Gasconade, Osage	30 min
May 25, 9:50 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Howard	25 min
May 25, 10:09 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Audrain, Boone, Randolph	36 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Missouri, 1989 Every tornado warning in 1989 Tornadoes 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.