Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 22, NWS Atlanta, GA

November 15, 1989Fulton County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this tornado warning at Nov 15, 1989, 6:14 PM EST for Fulton County, Georgia. It was in force for 31 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, 6:14 PM EST (23:14 UTC)
Expired: Nov 15, 1989, 6:45 PM EST
In force: 31 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Nov 15, 6:31 PM EST	Tornado F2	Fulton, GA
Nov 15, 6:49 PM EST	Tornado F2	Fulton, 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, 11.2 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KATL 152316
TORATL
GAC121-152345-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
614 PM EST WED NOV 15 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ATLANTA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  645 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA
          ...SOUTH FULTON
 
RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO IN SOUTH FULTON COUNTY JUST NORTHWEST OF
FAIRBURN. THIS STORM WAS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH TOWARD
THE SOUTHWEST ATLANTA METROPOLITAN AREA.
 
 
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.

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, 5:24 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Coweta, Heard	36 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, 6:47 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Lumpkin, White	58 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Georgia, 1989 Every tornado warning in 1989 Tornadoes 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.