Alert archive / Indiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 2, NWS Indianapolis, IN

January 7, 1989Lawrence County, Indiana

NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jan 7, 1989, 7:33 PM EST for Lawrence County, Indiana. It was in force for 42 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jan 7, 1989, 7:33 PM EST (00:33 UTC)
Expired
Jan 7, 1989, 8:15 PM EST
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Indianapolis, IN
Area
Whole counties

County Lawrence County, IN

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

Dayton/James M C, OH (KDAY), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 229 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, Dayton/James M C, OH at 00:00Z on 1989-01-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 60 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, Dayton/James M C, OH at 00:00Z on 1989-01-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 447 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
60 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-76 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
764 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
447 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
555 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KIND 080034
SVRIND
INC093-080115-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
733 PM EST (633 PM CST)  JAN 7 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN INDIANAPOLIS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  815 PM EST (715 PM CST)
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA
          ...LAWRENCE
 
AT 730 PM...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS 15 MILES WEST OF BEDFORD...25
MILES SOUTHWEST OF BLOOMINGTON. THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST 35 MPH
AND WILL MOVE ALONG THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF BEDFORD AROUND 800 PM.
 
THIS STORM PRODUCED GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL NEAR WASHINGTON AT 715 PM.
 
 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA.  REMEMBER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.  REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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, Jan 7, 4:39 PM EST, 2 hours 54 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
435 PM EST SAT JAN 7 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF WESTERN INDIANA UNTIL
   900 PM EST...

AT 430 PM EST...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED SEVERAL STRONG THUNDER-
STORMS OVER PARTS OF EXTREME WEST CENTRAL INDIANA AND EAST CENTRAL
ILLINOIS.

THE AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM NEAR DANVILLE
ILLINOIS...ABOUT 40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF LAFAYETTE...TO 30 MILES
NORTHWEST OF TERRE HAUTE THEN WEST TO 25 MILES SOUTH OF CHAMPAIGN.

THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED 30 MILES NORTHWEST
TERRE HAUTE AND 25 MILES SOUTH OF CHAMPAIGN.

GUSTY SURFACE WINDS...HEAVY RAINFALL AND DANGEROUS LqIGHTNING
WILL ACCOMPANY SOME OF THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS.
.
THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 TO 40 MILES AN HOUR.
PRZYBYLINSKI
Special weather statement, Jan 7, 5:16 PM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
514 PM EST SAT JAN 7 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF WESTERN INDIANA UNTIL
   900 PM EST...

AT 510 PM EST...NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS...SOME VERY STRONG...WERE IN A
15 TO 25 MILE WIDE AREA THAT EXTENDED FROM 25 MILES NORTH OF LAFAYETTE
TO 40 MILES NORTH OF TERRE HAUTE.

THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE 40 MILES NORTH OF TERRE HAUTE JUST
TO THE NORTH OF WAYNETOWN AND VEEDERSBURG. THESE STORMS LIKELY CONTAIN
HAIL...GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 35 TO 40 MILES AN HOUR.

AT 440 PM EST...THE VERMILLION COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED THAT PEA SIZE
HAIL COVERED THE GROUND AT NEWPORT.
STEIGERWALDT
Special weather statement, Jan 7, 5:42 PM EST, 1 hour 51 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
543 PM EST SAT JAN 7 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF WESTERN INDIANA UNTIL
   900 PM EST...

AT 540 PM EST...NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER NORTH CENTRAL INDIANA.
THE STORMS WERE WITHIN AN AREA FROM 20 MILES WEST AND 25 MILES OF
LAFAYETTE TO 35 MILES NORTH OF LOGANSPORT.

THE LARGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE FROM LAFAYETTE TO 20 MILES EAST OF
LAFAYETT-E. OTHER STRONG STORMS WERE 10 MILES WEST OF LOGANSPORT.

MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 35 TO 40 MILES AN HOUR.

AT 530 PM EST...THE CLINTON COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED MARBLE SIZE HAIL
6 MILES WEST OF FRANKFORT.
STEIGERWALDT
Special weather statement, Jan 7, 5:45 PM EST, 1 hour 48 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
543 PM EST SAT JAN 7 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF WESTERN INDIANA UNTIL
   900 PM EST...

AT 540 PM EST...NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER NORTH CENTRAL INDIANA.
THE STORMS WERE WITHIN AN AREA FROM 20 MILES WEST TO 25 MILES EAST OF
LAFAYETTE TO 35 MILES NORTH OF LOGANSPORT.

THE LARGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE FROM LAFAYETTE TO 20 MI1LES EAST OF
LAFAYETTE. OTHER STRONG STORMS WERE 10 MILES WEST OF LOGANSPORT.

MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 35 TO 40 MILES AN HOUR.

AT 530 PM EST...THE CLINTON COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED MARBLE SIZE HAIL
6 MILES WEST OF FRANKFORT.
STEIGERWALDT
Special weather statement, Jan 7, 7:10 PM EST, 23 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
709 PM EST SAT JAN 7 1989

AT 705 PM EST...VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAD ENTERED THE SOUTHWEST
SIDE OF INDIANAPOLIS...PRODUCING WIND GUSTS OF 32 MILES AN HOUR AT
THE INDIANAPOLIS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.

DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MILES AN HOUR ALONG WITH
HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND POSSIBLY SOME HAIL WILL ACCOMPANY THESE STORMS AS
THEY CONTINUE MOVING NORTHEAST ACROSS THE INDIANAPOLIS METROPOLITAN
AREA.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL REACH THE CITIES OF WESTFIELD...NOBLESVILLE
...FORTVILLE AND GREENFIELD BEFORE 800 PM EST.

TORNADO WATCHES REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST INDIANA
UNTIL 9 PM EST...AND FOR EAST CENTRAL AND THE REST OF SOUTHERN INDIANA
UNTIL 11 PM EST.
STEIGERWALDT

The office that day

Everything else NWS Indianapolis, IN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 7, 7:30 PM ESTTornado WarningINDMartin30 min
Jan 7, 8:38 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDBartholomew, Decatur52 min
Jan 7, 9:31 PM ESTTornado WarningINDElkhart14 min
Jan 7, 9:42 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDDecatur33 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Indiana, 1989Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.