Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Atlanta, GA

May 5, 1989Richmond County, Georgia; Aiken County, South Carolina

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this tornado warning at May 5, 1989, 7:17 PM EDT for Richmond County, Georgia; Aiken County, South Carolina. It was in force for 58 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 5, 1989, 7:17 PM EDT (23:17 UTC)
Expired
May 5, 1989, 8:15 PM EDT
In force
58 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Richmond County, GA, Aiken County, SC

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
May 5, 7:20 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Richmond, GA

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, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 145 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 1989-05-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 200 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 1989-05-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 107 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
200 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-27 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
610 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
107 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
157 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KAGS 052319
TORAGS
GAC245-SCC003-060015-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUGUSTA GA
717 PM EDT FRI MAY 5 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUGUSTA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  815 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA
          ...RICHMOND
IN WEST CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA
          ...AIKEN
 
AT 713 PM A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS SIGHTED AT BUSH FIELD IN RICHMOND COUNTY
GEORGIA MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH AND WILL MOVE INTO AIKEN
WITHIN 15 MINUTES.
 
 
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.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Atlanta, GA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 5, 3:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMeriwether50 min
May 5, 4:01 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCPike, Spalding44 min
May 5, 4:05 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBarrow, Hall, Jackson55 min
May 5, 4:05 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCNewton, Walton55 min
May 5, 4:13 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCButts47 min
May 5, 4:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCClarke, Morgan, Oconee63 min
May 5, 4:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMadison63 min
May 5, 4:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCJasper52 min
May 5, 4:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCLamar, Upson32 min
May 5, 5:11 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCElbert, Franklin, Hart64 min
May 5, 5:11 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCStephens64 min
May 5, 5:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCPutnam46 min
May 5, 5:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCJones69 min
May 5, 5:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHancock46 min
May 5, 5:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBaldwin51 min
May 5, 6:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGlascock, Jefferson, Washington65 min
May 5, 6:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCColumbia41 min
May 5, 6:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCRichmond31 min
May 5, 6:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCColumbia31 min
May 5, 7:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCLaurens47 min
May 5, 7:51 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCBurke54 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Georgia, 1989Tornado 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.