Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 27, NWS Indianapolis, IN

July 24, 1989Wayne County, Illinois

NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this tornado warning at Jul 24, 1989, 8:17 PM CDT for Wayne County, Illinois. It was in force for 43 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 24, 1989, 8:17 PM CDT (01:17 UTC)
Expired
Jul 24, 1989, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Indianapolis, IN
Area
Whole counties

County Wayne County, IL

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, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 153 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 1989-07-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 619 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, Paducah/Barkley, KY at 00:00Z on 1989-07-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 55 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
619 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-32 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1126 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
55 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
53 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KEVV 250118 RRA
TOREVV
ILC191-250200-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EVANSVILLE IN
817 PM CDT MON JUL 24 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EVANSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  900 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS
          ...WAYNE
 
AT 810 PM CDT...A TORNADO WAS REPORTED TO HAVE TOUCHED DOWN NEAR GEFF
ILLINOIS...50 MILES NORTHWEST OF EVANSVILLE. THE STORM IS MOVING TO
THE NORTHWEST AT 20 MPH...AND WILL BE MOVING INTO THE TOWNS OF CISNE ANDJOHNSONVILLE ILLINOIS BY 825.
 
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.
RUNNELS

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, Jul 24, 2:40 PM CDT, 5 hours 37 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
240 PM EST MON JUL 24 1989

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN CONTINUED TO DEVELOP
OVER THE SOUTHERN AND THE EASTERN HALF OF INDIANA

AT 225 PM EST RADAR SHOWED TWO STORMS ABOUT 20 MILES EAST OF
INDIANAPOLIS. ONE WAS 10 MILES NORTH OF GREENFIELD WHILE THE
OTHER WAS OVER GREENFIELD ITSELF.

THESE STORMS WERE MOVING VERY SLOWLY NORTHWEST AT 5 TO 10 MILES
AN HOUR. PERSONS IN THE GREENFIELD...FORTVILLE AND PHILADELPHIA
AREAS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR HEAVY RAINS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING
AS WELL AS STRONG GUSTY WINDS.

DO NOT ALLOW CHILDREN TO PLAY IN FLOODED AREAS AND DO NOT DRIVE
THROUGH FLOODED ROADS.

OTHE@R SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE FROM MARION SOUTH TO NEAR COLUMBUS
...AND THEN WEST TO BLOOMINGTON.

ALL OF THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHWEST AT 5 TO
10 MILES AN HOUR.

GERY
Special weather statement, Jul 24, 3:41 PM CDT, 4 hours 36 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
335 PM EST MON JUL 24 1989

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE OVER CENTRAL INDIANA.

AT 330 PM EST RADAR SHOWED ONE THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN
20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF INDIANAPOLIS EAR THE TOWN OF FRANKLIN.

ANOTHER STORM WITH HEAVY RAIN WAS 25 MILES NORTHEAST OF INDIANAPOLIS
TO THE WEST OF ANDERSON. BOTH OF THESE STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
VERY HEAVY RAINS AND GUSTY WINDS.

PERSONS IN THE AREAS AROUND THE TOWNS OF FRANKLIN...NEW WHITELAND AND
MOUNT PLEASANT IN JOHNSON COUNTY AND IN THE AREAS OF LAPEL AND
FRANKTON TO THE WEST AND NORTHWEST OF ANDERSON SHOULD PREPARE FOR
HEAVY RAINS..FREQUENT LIGHTNING AS WELL AS STRONG GUSTY WINDS.

DO NOT ALLOW CHILDREN TO PLAY IN FLOODED AREAS...DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH
FLOODED STREETS.

OTHER SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE SOUTH OF A LINE FROM
MARION THROUGH INDIANAPOLIS TO NEAR TERRE HAUTE.

ALL OF THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHWEST AT 5 TO
10 MILES AN HOUR.

GERY
Special weather statement, Jul 24, 4:48 PM CDT, 3 hours 29 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
447 PM EST MON JUL 24 1989

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR MARION COUNTY HAS EXPIRED.

AT 440 PM EST RADAR SHOWED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE STILL OVER
MARION AND HENDRICKS COUNTY IN CENTRAL INDIANA.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD STILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS AS THEY MOVE NORTHWEST AT 15 MILES AN
HOUR.

PRICE
Special weather statement, Jul 24, 5:52 PM CDT, 2 hours 25 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
550 PM EST MON JUL 24 1989

AT 545 PM EST RADAR SHOWED PRECIPITATION OVER A LARGE PORTION OF
CENTRAL INDIANA.

A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS LOCATED FROM 20 MILES NORTHEAST OF
LAFAYETTE...SOUTHWEST ACROSS CRAWFORDSVILLE TO 5 MILES NORTH AND WEST
OF TERRE HAUTE.

OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE FROM 5 MILES SOUTH OF KOKOMO TO 20
MILES EAST OF INDIANAPOLIS...NEAR GREENFIE$LD. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
WERE ALSO BETWEEN BLOOMINGTON AND COLUMBUS.

THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHWEST AT 15 TO 20 MILES AN HOUR.

PRICE

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 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.