Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 17, NWS Atlanta, GA

May 5, 1989Burke County, Georgia; Aiken County, Barnwell County, South Carolina

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this tornado warning at May 5, 1989, 7:51 PM EDT for Burke County, Georgia; Aiken County, Barnwell County, South Carolina. It was in force for 54 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, 7:51 PM EDT (23:51 UTC)
Expired
May 5, 1989, 8:45 PM EDT
In force
54 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Burke County, GA, Aiken County, SC, Barnwell 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, 8:15 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Barnwell, SC

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

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 163 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 1989-05-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 360 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 1989-05-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 144 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
360 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
728 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
144 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
222 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KAGS 052353
TORAGS
GAC033-SCC003-011-060045-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUGUSTA GA
751 PM EDT FRI MAY 5 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUGUSTA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  845 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA
          ...EASTERN BURKE
IN WEST CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA
          ...AIKEN...BARNWELL
 
AT 745 PM PUBLIC AND STORM SPOTTER REPORTS FUNNEL CLOUD SIGHTED EAST
OF SHELL BLUFF IN EASTERN BURKE COUNTY GEORGIA...MOVING NORTHEAST
ABOUT 50 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE MOVING INTO WESTERN AIKEN AND WESTERN
BARNWELL COUNTIES OF SOUTH CAROLINA WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MINUTES.
 
IF YOU LIVE IN A HOME OR APARTMENT...SEEK SHELTER IN THE
INNERMOST PORTION OF THE BUILDING ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  GET TO
A BASEMENT IF ONE IS AVAILABLE.  AVOID WINDOWS AND PROTECT YOUR
BODY FROM FLYING DEBRIS WITH CUSHIONS...BLANKETS...OR PILLOWS.

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, 7:17 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCRichmond58 min
May 5, 7:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCLaurens47 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 1989Tornado Warnings in Georgia, 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.