Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 49, NWS Fort Worth, TX

June 2, 1989Mitchell County, Texas

NWS Fort Worth, TX issued this tornado warning at Jun 2, 1989, 7:42 PM CDT for Mitchell County, Texas. It was in force for 63 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jun 2, 1989, 7:42 PM CDT (00:42 UTC)
Expired
Jun 2, 1989, 8:45 PM CDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Fort Worth, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Mitchell County, TX

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

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 127 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, Midland Regional, TX at 00:00Z on 1989-06-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 864 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, Midland Regional, TX at 00:00Z on 1989-06-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 17 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
864 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-61 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2240 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
17 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
63 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KABI 030042
TORABI
TXC335-030145-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABILENE TX
742 PM CDT FRI JUN 2 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ABILENE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  845 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN NORTHWEST TEXAS
          ...MITCHELL
 
AT 740PM SEVERE STORM SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO IN MITCHELL COUNTY 8
MILES SOUTH OF COLORADO CITY. THIS DANGEROUS STORM IS MOVING SOUTHEAST
AT 20 TO 25 MILES AN HOUR AND HAS ALEADY PRODUCED GOLFBALL TO BASEBALL
HAIL OVER NORTHWEST MITCHELL COUNTY.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...GO TO A BASEMENT OR
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOM#ES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A REINFORCED BUILDING.
AS A LAST RESORT...TAKE COVER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR
HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

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, Jun 2, 6:55 PM CDT, 47 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
655 PM CDT FRI JUN 2 1989

THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING INTO NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS THIS EVENING WITH
SOME PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS.  AT 750 PM... NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
MOVING INTO NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS FROM NEAR WICHITA FALLS TO THE DALLAS/
FORT WORTH AREA.  THE STRONGER STORMS WERE ALONG THE NORTHERN DALLAS
AND TARRANT COUNTY BORDER... IN DENTON COUNTY NEAR DENTON AND BETWEEN
GAINESVILLE AND MONTAGUE.  STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT ABOUT
20 MILES AN HOUR.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING ALONG AN OLD OUTFLOW BOUNDARY PUSHING
INTO NORTH TEXAS FROM EARLY STORMS IN OKLAHOMA AND THE TEXAS PANHANDLE.
VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR AHEAD OF THE BOUNDARY WAS FUELING THE
STORMS.

RESIDENTS SHOULD BE ALERT TO THREATENING WEATHER IN THE AREA.  THESE
STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING HAIL... STRONG WINDS AND
HEAVY RAIN.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Jun 2, 7:09 PM CDT, 33 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT... CORRECTED RADAR TIME
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
655 PM CDT FRI JUN 2 1989

THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING INTO NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS THIS EVENING WITH
SOME PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS.  AT 650 PM... NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
MOVING INTO NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS FROM NEAR WICHITA FALLS TO THE DALLAS/
FORT WORTH AREA.  THE STRONGER STORMS WERE ALONG THE NORTHERN DALLAS
AND TARRANT COUNTY BORDER... IN DENTON COUNTY NEAR DENTON AND BETWEEN
GAINESVILLE AND MONTAGUE.  STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT ABOUT
20 MILES AN HOUR.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING ALONG AN OLD OUTFLOW BOUNDARY PUSHING
INTO NORTH TEXAS FROM EARLY STORMS IN OKLAHOMA AND THE TEXAS PANHANDLE.
VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR AHEAD OF THE BOUNDARY WAS FUELING THE
STORMS.

RESIDENTS SHOULD BE ALERT TO THREATENING WEATHER IN THE AREA.  THESE
STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING HAIL... STRONG WINDS AND
HEAVY RAIN.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Jun 2, 7:41 PM CDT, 1 minute before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
740 PM CDT FRI JUN 2 1989

THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO MOVE THROUGH NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS THIS
EVENING.  AT 735 PM... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED AN AREA
OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS EXTENDING FROM WICHITA
FALLS TO SOUTH OF DALLAS.  THE STRONGER STORMS WERE LOCATED NEAR
GAINESVILLE... NORTHWEST OF DENTON AND NEAR DALLAS/FORT WORTH.  STORMS
WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT ABOUT 10 TO 15 MILES AN HOUR.

VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR WAS FEEDING THE THUNDERSTORMS WHICH FORMED
ALONG AN OLD OUTFLOW BOUNDARY MOVING INTO NORTH TEXAS.

RESIDENTS SHOULD BE ALERT TO THREATENING WEATHER IN THE AREA.  THE"SE
STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING HAIL... STRONG WINDS AND
HEAVY RAINS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Fort Worth, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 2, 7:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDMitchell57 min
Jun 2, 8:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDNolan63 min
Jun 2, 9:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDCollin53 min
Jun 2, 9:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDMadison57 min
Jun 2, 10:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDTaylor51 min
Jun 3, 2:44 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDCallahan61 min
Jun 3, 3:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDComanche, Eastland, Erath, Palo Pinto55 min
Jun 3, 4:50 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHamilton40 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 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.