Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 3, NWS Jacksonville, FL
NWS Jacksonville, FL issued this tornado warning at May 21, 1989, 2:39 PM EDT for Alachua County, Bradford County, Clay County, Florida. It was in force for 36 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 21, 1989, 2:39 PM EDT (18:39 UTC)
- Expired
- May 21, 1989, 3:15 PM EDT
- In force
- 36 min
- Issued by
- NWS Jacksonville, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Alachua County, FL, Bradford County, FL, Clay County, FL
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 21, 3:00 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Alachua, FL |
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
Jacksonville, FL (KAYS), launched 12:00Z, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 81 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 271 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -138 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1197 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 15 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -8 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -17 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KJAX 211855 COR
TORJAX
FLC001-007-019-211915-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
255 PM EDT SUN MAY 21 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSONVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 315 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN NORTH FLORIDA
...ALACHUA...BRADFORD...CLAY
AT 230 PM EDT THE ALACHUA COUNTY CIVIL DEFENSE REPORTED A FUNNEL
CLOUD OVER FAIRBANKS IN ALACHUA COUNTY MOVING EAST AT 25 MILES AN
HOUR. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWS STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN
THE AREA.
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF 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.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 21, 1:54 PM EDT, 45 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL 155 PM EDT SUN MAY 21 1989 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING THROUGH NORTHEAST FLORIDA... AT 150 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM 20 MILES WEST OF GAINESVILLE NORTH THROUGH LAKE CITY TO THE FLORIDA GEORGIA BORDER. IN THE PAST HOUR...HAIL THE SIZE OF QUARTERS WAS REPORTED BY THE HAMILTON COUNTY CIVIL DEFENSE DIRECTOR IN JASPER FLORIDA ALONG WITH HIGH WINDS AND POWER OUTAGES. THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING EAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL LIKELY BE ACCOMPANIED BY PERIODS OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS... FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES AND HAIL FOR THE NEXT ONE TO TWO HOURS. REMEMBER...MORE PEOPLE ARE KILLED BY LIGHTNING IN FLORIDA THAN ANY OTHER STATE IN THE COUNTRY. WHEN A THUNDERSTORM THREATENS TRY TO GET INSIDE A HOME OR LARGE BUILDING. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE TIME TO REACH A SAFE BUILDING OR CAR...AVOID OPEN FIELDS SUCH AS GO|LF COURSES... BASEBALL FIELDS...BEACHES...OR FISHING FROM A SMALL BOAT OR PIERS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER NEWS MEDIA FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS THAY MAY BE NECESSARY THIS AFTERNOON.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Jacksonville, FL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 4:03 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Putnam, Saint Johns | 42 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Florida, 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.