Alert archive / South Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Sioux Falls, SD

May 21, 1989Douglas County, South Dakota

NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued this tornado warning at May 21, 1989, 7:59 PM CDT for Douglas County, South Dakota. It was in force for 31 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 21, 1989, 7:59 PM CDT (00:59 UTC)
Expired
May 21, 1989, 8:30 PM CDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Sioux Falls, SD
Area
Whole counties

County Douglas County, SD

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

Aberdeen, SD (KHON), launched 00:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 168 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, Aberdeen, SD at 00:00Z on 1989-05-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 759 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, Aberdeen, SD at 00:00Z on 1989-05-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 57 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
759 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-33 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1719 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
57 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
242 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
6.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KFSD 220100
TORFSD
SDC043-220130-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
759 PM CDT SUN MAY 21 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SIOUX FALLS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  830 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA
          ...EASTERN DOUGLAS
 
SOME CITIES INCLUDED IN THIS WARNING...ARMOUR.
 
AT 755 PM CDT A TORNADO WAS REPORTED ON THE GROUND BY STATE POLICE 30
MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF MITCHELL SOUTH DAKOTA.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 21, 7:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDAurora, Douglas26 min
May 21, 7:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDGregory38 min
May 21, 7:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDCharles Mix25 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Dakota, 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.