Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Atlanta, GA

April 4, 1989Gordon County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this tornado warning at Apr 4, 1989, 2:50 PM EDT for Gordon County, Georgia. It was in force for 55 min. 3 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
Apr 4, 1989, 2:50 PM EDT (18:50 UTC)
Expired
Apr 4, 1989, 3:45 PM EDT
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

County Gordon 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 4, 3:10 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Gordon, GA
Apr 4, 3:15 PM EDTHail 1.75Gordon, GA
Apr 4, 3:30 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Gordon, 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, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 157 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 1989-04-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 30 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 1989-04-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 141 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
30 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-310 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
670 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
67 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 041851
TORATL
GAC015-129-233-041945-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
250 PM EDT TUE APR 4 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ATLANTA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  345 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA
          ...BARTOW...GORDON...POLK
 
THE STRONG THUNDERSTORM THAT CAUSED THE REPORTED TORNADO IN FLOYD
COUNTY CONTINUES TO APPEAR STRONG AND SEVERE AS IT MOVES TO THE
EAST NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.
 
THIS WILL AFFECT THE TOWNS OF CALHOUN...ADAIRSVILLE...KINGSTON...
CEADERTOWN...AND SURROUNDING AREAS.
 
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
Apr 4, 1:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCChattooga54 min
Apr 4, 1:11 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCWalker49 min
Apr 4, 1:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCWalker41 min
Apr 4, 2:18 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCChattooga, Floyd42 min
Apr 4, 2:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCWalker49 min
Apr 4, 2:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMeriwether44 min
Apr 4, 2:50 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCBartow, Polk55 min
Apr 4, 3:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGilmer, Pickens50 min
Apr 4, 3:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCarroll, Haralson, Paulding50 min
Apr 4, 3:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHeard50 min
Apr 4, 3:23 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCCarroll, Haralson, Paulding37 min
Apr 4, 3:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCherokee, Cobb, Douglas, Fulton59 min
Apr 4, 3:36 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCCherokee, Forsyth54 min
Apr 4, 3:41 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCCoweta, Fayette49 min
Apr 4, 3:44 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCClayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett46 min
Apr 4, 3:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCDawson, Hall, Lumpkin56 min
Apr 4, 3:58 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCHenry, Rockdale, Spalding47 min
Apr 4, 4:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBanks, Habersham69 min
Apr 4, 4:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBarrow, Jackson69 min
Apr 4, 4:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCNewton, Walton69 min
Apr 4, 4:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCWhite63 min
Apr 4, 4:21 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCBanks, Habersham, Hall, Jackson69 min
Apr 4, 4:33 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCStephens57 min
Apr 4, 4:34 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCLamar, Pike, Upson41 min
Apr 4, 4:34 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCButts41 min
Apr 4, 4:51 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCJasper, Monroe69 min
Apr 4, 4:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCClarke, Elbert, Franklin, Hart, Madison, Oglethorpe68 min
Apr 4, 4:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGreene, Morgan, Oconee, Taliaferro68 min
Apr 4, 5:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCJones, Putnam63 min
Apr 4, 5:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBibb, Crawford55 min
Apr 4, 5:39 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHouston, Peach, Twiggs66 min
Apr 4, 5:39 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBaldwin, Wilkinson66 min
Apr 4, 5:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGlascock, Hancock, Warren62 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.