Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Wilmington, NC

September 23, 1989Carteret County, North Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this tornado warning at Sep 23, 1989, 11:34 AM EDT for Carteret County, North Carolina. It was in force for 41 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 23, 1989, 11:34 AM EDT (15:34 UTC)
Expired
Sep 23, 1989, 12:15 PM EDT
In force
41 min
Issued by
NWS Wilmington, NC
Area
Whole counties

County Carteret County, NC

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

Cape Hatteras, NC (KHAT), launched 12:00Z, 3.6 hours before the alert went out and 104 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, Cape Hatteras, NC at 12:00Z on 1989-09-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 275 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, Cape Hatteras, NC at 12:00Z on 1989-09-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 34 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
275 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-40 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1014 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
34 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
43 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KILM 231534 RRA
TORILM
NCC031-231615-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
1134 AM EDT SAT SEP 23 1989

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO AND SPECIAL 
MARINE WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1215 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE 
FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
      CARTERET

...THIS WARNING ALSO INCLUDES THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS FOR THE
COUNTY JUST MENTIONED

AT 1125 THIS MORNING WATERSPOUTS WERE REPORTED BY THE CARTERET
COUNTY SHERIFF DEPARTMENT AND THE PUBLIC ALONG THE BEACHES OF
CARTERET COUNTY NEAR MOREHEAD CITY AND ATLANTIC BEACH. THEY WERE
MOVING NORTH ONSHORE.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE IS IN
A BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...FIND SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLDOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

 BJ

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 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.