Alert archive / Tennessee / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 69, NWS Atlanta, GA
NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 20, 1989, 6:29 AM EDT for Bradley County, Hamilton County, Tennessee. It was in force for 61 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 20, 1989, 6:29 AM EDT (10:29 UTC)
- Expired
- May 20, 1989, 7:30 AM EDT
- In force
- 61 min
- Issued by
- NWS Atlanta, GA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Bradley County, TN, Hamilton County, TN
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 20, 6:30 AM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Hamilton, TN |
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
Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 179 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 999 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -18 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1198 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 53 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 210 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 414 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.4
- Supercell composite
- 6.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KCHA 201032
SVRCHA
TNC011-065-201130-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHATTANOOGA TN
629 AM EDT SAT MAY 20 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHATTANOOGA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 730 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE
...BRADLEY...SOUTHERN HAMILTON
THUNDERSTORMS WERE INDICATED BY RADAR MOVING SOUTHEAST INTO SOUTHERN
HAMILTON AND INTO BRADLEY COUNTIES. HIGH WINDS HAVE BEEN
REPORTED ALONG WITH CONTINUOUS LIGHTNING.
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH YOU SHOULD
PREPARE FOR DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...LARGE HAIL...AND
DEADLY LIGHTNING. PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A SHELTER...
PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 20, 6:24 AM EDT, 5 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA 625 AM EDT SAT MAY 20 1989 AT 620 AM EDT RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS JUST NORTH OF THE TENNESSEE-GEORGIA BORDER NEAR CHATTANOOGA. THE LINE WAS MOVING SOUTH NEAR 25 MPH. THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN ACCOMPANIED BY HIGH WINDS WHICH HAVE BLOWN DOWN TREES IN VANBUREN COUNTY IN TENNESSEE. THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY HIGH WINDS TO 40 MPH...SMALL HAIL ...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND BRIEF HEAVY DOWMPOURS. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO EXTREME NORTHWEST GEORGIA BY 700 AM AND CONTINUE SOUTHEASTWARD INTO DADE...WALKER...WHITEFIELD...MURRAY COUNTIES. PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD STAY ALERT AS THESE STORMS APPROACH AND TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Atlanta, GA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 5:26 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Bledsoe, Van Buren | 64 min |
| May 20, 6:08 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Hamilton, Rhea | 52 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Tennessee, 1989Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.