Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Indianapolis, IN

May 19, 1989Vanderburgh County, Warrick County, Indiana

NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this tornado warning at May 19, 1989, 7:17 PM CDT for Vanderburgh County, Warrick County, Indiana. It was in force for 28 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 19, 1989, 7:17 PM CDT (00:17 UTC)
Expired: May 19, 1989, 7:45 PM CDT
In force: 28 min
Issued by: NWS Indianapolis, IN
Area: Whole counties

Counties Vanderburgh County, IN, Warrick County, IN

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 19, 7:30 PM CDT	Hail 2	Vanderburgh, IN

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Paducah/Barkley, KY (KPAH), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 157 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1172 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1319 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 166 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 311 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.3
Supercell composite: 10.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KEVV 200018
TOREVV
INC163-173-200045-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EVANSVILLE IN
717 PM CDT FRI MAY 19 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EVANSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  745 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN SOUTHWEST INDIANA
          ...VANDERBURGH...WARRICK
 
AT 715 PM CDT A TORNADO WAS REPORTED TO TOUCHDOWN ON THE WEST SIDE OF
EVANSVILLE ALONG ST JOSEPH AVENUE BY THE CITY ZOO. THE SEVERE STORM
PRODUCING THIS TORNADO WAS MOVING INTO EVANSVILLE.
 
TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.  THIS STORM WILL MOVE THROUGH VANDERBURGH
COUNTY AND INTO WARRICK COUNTY AROUND 730 TO 740 PM.
 
SOME CITIES ALONG THE PATH OF THIS STORM ARE CHANDLER STEVENSON
AND BOONVILLE...ALL EAST OF EVANSVILLE.
 
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE ROF 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.
ZIMMER

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, May 19, 5:23 PM CDT, 1 hour 54 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
520 PM EST FRI MAY 19 1989

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER WESTERN INDIANA. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
WITH HEAVY RAINS AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING EXTENDED FROM ABOUT 20 MILES
NORTHEAST OF LAFAYETTE THROUGH CRAWFORDSVILLE TO 30 MILES SOUTHEAST
OF TERRE HAUTE.

MORE THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALONG THE INDIANA AND ILLINOIS BORDER
APPROACHING WILLIAMSPORT AND ATTICA...ABOUT 30 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
LAFAYETTE.

THESE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL REACH
LOGANSPORT...GREENCASTLE AND INDIANAPOLIS BETWEEN 530 AND 600 PM EST.
HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THE STRONGEST STORMS.

THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD ARRIVE IN BLOOMINGTON AROUND 600 PM EST.
EDWARDS

Special weather statement, May 19, 6:22 PM CDT, 55 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
620 PM EST FRI MAY 19 1989

AT 615 PM EST...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS COVERED MUCH OF THE WEST PART
OF INDIANA...AND WERE MOVING INTO CENTRAL INDIANA.

THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE 20 MILES EAST OF LAFAYETTE...WITH
OTHER STRONG STORMS 10...20 AND 30 MILES NORTH OF TERRE HAUTE. ANOTHER
STRONG STORM WAS 20 MILES WEST AND NORTHWEST OF BLOOMINGTON.

MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE THROUGH LINDEN...CRAWFORDSVILLE...AND
WAYNETOWN BETWEEN 630 AND 645 PM EST. OTHER STRONG STORMS WILL MOVE
THROUGH MARTINSVILLE AND TO THE BLOOMINGTON AREA BY ABOUT 645 PM.
.
AT 545 PM EST...THE STATE POLICE REPORTED PEA SIZE HAIL...SMALL TREE
LIMBS BLOW DOWN AND TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS REDUCING VISIBILITIES TO ZERO
AT HILLSDALE...OR 22 MILES NORTH OF TERRE HAUTE.
.
AT 600 PM EST...THE WHITE COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED VISIBILITY DOWN TO 100
FEET AT CHALMERS...WHICH IS 15 MILES NORTH OF LAFAYETTE.

AT 611 PM EST...A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED BY THE STATE POLICE ON
STATE ROAD 46 IN OWEN COUNTY MOVING EAST.

THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING PEA SIZE HAIL
...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...VERY HEAVY RAIN AND LOTS OF LIGHTNING.
STEIGERWALDT

Special weather statement, May 19, 7:04 PM CDT, 13 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
700 PM EST FRI MAY 19 1989

AT 655 PM EST...A NARROW LINE OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ABOUT 10
MILES WIDE STRETCHED FROM 10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF LAFAYETTE TO 15 MILES
NORTHEAST OF TERRE HAUTE.

OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN THE MARTINSVILLE AND BLOOMINGTON
AREAS.

MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE TO NEAR KOKOMO...KIRKLIN AND ROACHDALE
BY ABOUT 730 PM EST. OTHER STRONG STORMS WILL REACH THE VINCINITY OF
GREENWOOD...FRANKLIN AND TO 10 MILES NORTHWEST OF COLUMBUS SHORTLY
AFTER 730 PM.
.
THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING PEA SIZE HAIL...DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING..B.VERY HEAVY RAIN...AND WIND GUSTS THAT MAY BE CAPABLE OF
BLOWING DOWN SOME SMALL TREE LIMBS.
STEIGERWALDT

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 19, 7:40 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	IND	Gibson	50 min
May 19, 7:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Dubois, Pike	46 min
May 19, 7:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Perry, Spencer	46 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Indiana, 1989 Every tornado warning in 1989 Tornadoes 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.