Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 12, NWS Indianapolis, IN

April 28, 1989Knox County, Indiana

NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this tornado warning at Apr 28, 1989, 9:48 PM EST for Knox County, Indiana. It was in force for 27 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 28, 1989, 9:48 PM EST (02:48 UTC)
Expired
Apr 28, 1989, 10:15 PM EST
In force
27 min
Issued by
NWS Indianapolis, IN
Area
Whole counties

County Knox 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

Paducah/Barkley, KY (KPAH), launched 00:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 212 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, Paducah/Barkley, KY at 00:00Z on 1989-04-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Paducah/Barkley, KY at 00:00Z on 1989-04-29The 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1661 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-57 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-41 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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, Apr 28, 7:52 PM EST, 1 hour 56 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
750 PM EST FRI APR 29 1989

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM FOR
BARTHOLOMEW AND DECATUR COUNTIES.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR BROWN COUNTY IS NO LONGER IN
EFFECT.

AT 745 PM RADAR WAS INDICATING SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE
SOUTHERN HALF OF BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY. AT 745 PM THE BARTHOLOMEW
COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED VISIBILITY NEAR ZERO IN RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR. THEY WILL
MOVE NEAR THE TOWN OF WEST PORT IN DECATUR COUNTY BY 800 PM.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY CONTAIN VERY HEAVY RAIN...INTENSE LIGHTNING
...HAIL AND GUSTY WINDSu.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO YOUR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

HAINES
Special weather statement, Apr 28, 8:14 PM EST, 1 hour 34 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
810 PM EST FRI APR 29 1989

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS FOR BARTHOLOMEW AND DECATUR COUNTIES
OF SOUTH-CENTRAL INDIANA EXPIRED AT 8 PM EST THIS EVENING.

AT 800 PM EST INDIANAPOLIS WEATHER RADAR SHOWED AN AREA OF THUNDER-
STORMS FROM BROWN COUNTY EASTWARD TO CINCINNATI. THE STRONGEST STORMS
WERE ABOUT 15 MILES SOUTH OF COLUMBUS IN BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY. ANOTHER
STORM WAS IN THE EXTREME NORTHWEST PART OF JENNINGS COUNTY AND ABOUT
5 MILES NORTHWEST OF NORTH VERNON.

THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR .

THE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCED VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS...SMALL HAIL...GUSTY
WINDS AND INTENSE LIGHTNING.

PERSONS NEAR THE STORMS SHOULD BE ALERT TO THEM. WHEN THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE SIGHTED...GO TO A SAFE PLACE AT ONCE.
REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

KOLDITZ
Special weather statement, Apr 28, 8:38 PM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
840 PM EST FRI APR 29 1989

AT 825 PM SOME VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING THROUGH SOUTHEAST
INDIANA. THESE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
RUSHVILLE TO 10 MILES SOUTH OF COLUMBUS. BY 900 PM THESE THUNDERSTORMS
WILL MOVE INTO WESTERN FAYETTE...NORTHERN DECATUR AND SOUTHEAST
BARTHOLOMEW COUNTIES.

ANOTHER VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE MOVING INTO WEST CENTRAL
INDIANA. AT 930 PM THIS THUNDERSTORM WAS IN EXTREME EASTERN ILLINOIS
ABOUT 30 NORTHWEST OF VINCENNES. THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE INTO
SULIVAN COUNTY AROUND 900PM.

ANY OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY CONTAIN VERY HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL
...INTENSE LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY
TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO.
HAINES
Special weather statement, Apr 28, 8:43 PM EST, 1 hour 5 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
840 PM EST FRI APR 29 1989

AT 825 PM SOME VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING THROUGH SOUTHEAST
INDIANA. THESE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
RUSHVILLE TO 10 MILES SOUTH OF COLUMBUS. BY 900 PM THESE THUNDERSTORMS
WILL MOVE INTO WESTERN FAYETTE...NORTHERN DECATUR AND SOUTHEAST
BARTHOLOMEW COUNTIES.

ANOTHER VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE MOVING INTO WEST CENTRAL
INDIANA. AT 830 PM THIS THUNDERSTORM WAS IN EXTREME EASTERN ILLINOIS
ABOUT 30 NORTHWEST OF VINCENNES. THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE INTO
SULLIVAN COUNTY AROUND 900PM.

ANY OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY CONTAIN VERY HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL
...INTENSE LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY
TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO.
...CORRECTED TIME IN 2ND PARAGRAPH...

HAINES
Special weather statement, Apr 28, 9:21 PM EST, 27 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
920 PM EST FRI APR 29 1989

AT 910 PM SEVERAL AREAS OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING THOUGH
THE SOUTHERN THIRD OF INDIANA.

ONE AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM CENTRAL FAYETTE COUNTY
ABOUT 5 MILES NORTH OF BROOKVILLE THROUGH CENTRAL DECATUR COUNTY TO
JUST TO THE EAST OF COLUMBUS. BY 10 PM THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE
INTO UNION COUNTY NEAR LIBERY AND NEAR BATESVILLE...WESTPORT AND
NORTH VERNON

ANOTHER AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING INTO SOUTHWEST INDIANA.
THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS IN THIS AREA WILL MOVE TO CARLISLE AND JUST
TO THE NORTH OF VINCENNES BY 10 PM.

ANY OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY CONTAIN VERY HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL
...INTENSE LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS.

OF YOU OBSERVE ANY SEVERE WEATHER SUCH AS LARGE HAIL OR DAMAGING WINDS
REPORT THIS TO YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND ASK THEM TO RELAY
THIS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

HAINES

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 28, 7:06 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDBartholomew, Brown54 min
Apr 28, 7:31 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDBartholomew, Decatur29 min
Apr 28, 10:09 PM ESTTornado WarningINDDaviess36 min
Apr 29, 1:09 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningINDBartholomew4 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Indiana, 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.