Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 21, NWS Atlanta, GA
NWS Atlanta, GA issued this tornado warning at Nov 15, 1989, 5:24 PM EST for Coweta County, Heard County, Georgia. It was in force for 36 min. 2 reports 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
- Nov 15, 1989, 5:24 PM EST (22:24 UTC)
- Expired
- Nov 15, 1989, 6:00 PM EST
- In force
- 36 min
- Issued by
- NWS Atlanta, GA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Coweta County, GA, Heard County, GA
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 15, 5:30 PM EST | Hail 0.75 | Heard, GA | |
| Nov 15, 5:45 PM EST | Hail 1.25 | Heard, 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, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 167 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
- 26 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -39 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 566 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 27 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 80 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 16 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KATL 152227
TORATL
GAC077-149-152300-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
524 PM EST WED NOV 15 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ATLANTA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 600 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA
...NORTHWEST COWETA...HEARD
RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO IN EXTREME NORTHEAST HEARD COUNTY MOVING
RAPIDLY TO THE NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. THIS WILL TAKE IT INTO NORTHWEST
COWETA COUNTY SHORTLY. ANOTHER TORNADO WAS MOVING FROM ALABAMA INTO
WESTERN HEARD COUNTY.
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.What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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, Nov 15, 1:45 PM EST, 3 hours 39 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA 145 PM EST WED NOV 15 1989 NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN IN EXTREME SOUTHWEST GILMER COUNTY NEAR CARTERS LAKE. THIS THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING RAPIDLY TO THE NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. THIS THUNDERSTORM LIKELY CONTAINS GUSTY WINDS AND POSSIBLY SOME HAIL. ON ITS CURRENT PATH THIS THUNDERSTORM SHOULD PASS NEAR ELLIJAY BY 215 PM. RESIDENTS OF GILMER COUNyTY SHOULD BE ALERT TO ANY SUDDENT CHANGES IN THE WEATHER AND PREPARED TO SEEK SAFE SHELTER.
Special weather statement, Nov 15, 4:22 PM EST, 1 hour 2 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA 420 PM EST WED NOV 15 1989 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR NORTHWEST GEORGIA UNTIL 11 PM EST... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR NORTH- WEST GEORGIA AS WELL AS ADJACENT AREAS OF EAST TENNESSEE...EAST ALABAMA...AND EXTREME WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. THIS TORNADO WATCH WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM EST FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA...BARTOW...CARROLL...CHATTOOGA...CHEROKEE...CLAYTON...COBB... COWETA...DEKALB...DOUGLAS...FANNIN...FAYETTE...FLOYD...FORSYTH... FULTON...GILMER...GORDON...GWINETT...HARALSON...HEARD...MURRAY... PAULDING...PICKENS...AND POLK. POTENTIALLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN RAPIDLY DEVELOPING THIS AFTERNOON AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT. SOME OF THESE STORMS HAVE PRODUCED TORNADOES AND LARGE HAIL IN ALABAMA EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON. THIS IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. PERSONS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AND BE PREPARED TpO TAKE QUICK ACTION IF WARNINGS ARE ISSUED.
Special weather statement, Nov 15, 4:37 PM EST, 47 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATHENS GA 430 PM EST WED NOV 15 1989 A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF NORTHWEST AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA UNTIL 11 PM EST TONIGHT. THIS INCLUDES DAWSON...HABERSHAM...HALL...LUMPKIN...RABUN...TOWNS...UNION AND WHITE COUNTIES OF NORTHEAST GEORGIA. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE WIDELY SCATTERED OVER NORTHWEST GEORGIA...EASTERN TENNESSEE AND EASTERN ALABAMA. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALSO SCATTERED OVER EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST 40 MPH.
Special weather statement, Nov 15, 4:42 PM EST, 42 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATHENS GA 430 PM EST WED NOV 15 1989 A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF NORTHWEST AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA UNTIL 11 PM EST TONIGHT. THIS INCLUDES DAWSON...HABERSHAM...HALL...LUMPKIN...RABUN...TOWNS...UNION AND WHITE COUNTIES OF NORTHEAST GEORGIA. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE WIDELY SCATTERED OVER NORTHWEST GEORGIA...EASTERN TENNESSEE AND EASTERN ALABAMA. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALSO SCATTERED OVER EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST 40 MPH.
Special weather statement, Nov 15, 5:08 PM EST, 16 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA 510 PM EST WED NOV 15 1989 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR NORTHWEST GEORGIA UNTIL 11 PM EST... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR NORTH- WEST GEORGIA AS WELL AS ADJACENT AREAS OF EAST TENNESSEE...EAST ALABAMA...AND EXTREME WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. POTENTIALLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN RAPIDLY DEVELOPING THIS AFTERNOON AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT. THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER IN ALABAMA IN THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS. PEA TO DIME SIZED HAIL FELL IN HEARD COUNTY OF WEST GEORGIA AROUND 500 PM. THIS IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. PERSONS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE QUICK ACTION WHEN WARNINGS ARE ISSUED. EVEN STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS NORTH ALABAMA SHOULD MOVE INTO NORTH GEORGIA IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Atlanta, GA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 15, 4:48 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Heard | 27 min |
| Nov 15, 5:16 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Coweta | 29 min |
| Nov 15, 5:56 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Fulton | 34 min |
| Nov 15, 6:00 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Fulton | 30 min |
| Nov 15, 6:14 PM EST | Tornado Warning | FFC | Fulton | 31 min |
| Nov 15, 6:47 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Lumpkin, White | 58 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.