Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Atlanta, GA

March 5, 1989Fulton County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this tornado warning at Mar 5, 1989, 10:40 PM EST for Fulton County, Georgia. It was in force for 35 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 5, 1989, 10:40 PM EST (03:40 UTC)
Expired
Mar 5, 1989, 11:15 PM EST
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

County Fulton County, GA

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Athens Municipal, GA (KAHN), launched 00:00Z, 3.7 hours before the alert went out and 109 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 00:00Z on 1989-03-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1989-03-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 381 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
559 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
66 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
381 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
468 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KATL 060341
TORATL
GAC121-060415-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
1040 PM EST SUN MAR 5 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ATLANTA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1115 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA
          ...FULTON
 
A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED NEAR THE SOUTHERN FULTON COUNTY
LINE SOUTHWEST OF ATLANTA. IT IS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.
 
THIS MOVEMENT WILL TAKE THE STORM THROUGH THE ATLANTA METRO AREA DURING NEXT HOUR.
 
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.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 5, 7:00 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHaralson60 min
Mar 5, 8:22 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCarroll38 min
Mar 5, 9:18 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCTroup42 min
Mar 5, 10:06 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCCobb, Douglas54 min

Nearby

Tornado 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.