Alert archive / Tennessee / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 7, NWS Atlanta, GA

March 15, 1989Polk County, Tennessee

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 15, 1989, 3:15 PM EST for Polk County, Tennessee. It was in force for 45 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
Mar 15, 1989, 3:15 PM EST (20:15 UTC)
Expired
Mar 15, 1989, 4:00 PM EST
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

County Polk 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 15, 3:25 PM ESTHail 1Polk, 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

Athens Municipal, GA (KAHN), launched 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 172 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, Athens Municipal, GA at 12:00Z on 1989-03-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 222 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, Athens Municipal, GA at 12:00Z on 1989-03-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 229 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
222 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-140 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
648 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
229 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
196 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCHA 152017
SVRCHA
TNC139-152100-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHATTANOOGA TN
315 PM EST WED MAR 15 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHATTANOOGA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  400 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE
          ...EASTERN POLK
 
CHATTANOOGA S WEATHER RADAR INDICATES A POSSIBLE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM MOVING INTO SOUTHERN POLK COUNTY AND MOVING
TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 40 MPH. THIS THUNDERSTORM
VERY LIKELY CONTAINS LARGE HAIL.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN#.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

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, Mar 15, 3:12 PM EST, 3 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
310 PM WED MAR 15 1989

A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM LOCATED IN EXTREME NORTH MURRARY COUNTY
WAS INDICATED ON WEATHER SERVICE RADAR AT 310 PM. THIS STORM WAS
MOVING TO THE EASTNORTHEAST AT 30 TO 40 MPH. THIS PATH WILL TAKE IT
ACROSS NORTH FANNIN COUNTY NORTH OF BLUERIDGE WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR.

THIS STORM MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY HAIL TO 1/4 INCH...STRONG GUSTY
SURFACE WIND TO 40 MPH AND BRIEF SUDDEN DOWNPOURS.

PERSONS IN NORTH MURRAY AND NORTH FANNIN COUNTIES SHOULD STAY ALERT
FOR THIS APPROACHING STORM AND BE READY TO MOVE TO SHELTER AS THE STORM
APPROACHES.

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.