Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 2, NWS New Orleans, LA

April 29, 1989Catahoula Parish, Louisiana

NWS New Orleans, LA issued this tornado warning at Apr 29, 1989, 7:32 PM CDT for Catahoula Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 28 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 29, 1989, 7:32 PM CDT (00:32 UTC)
Expired
Apr 29, 1989, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
28 min
Issued by
NWS New Orleans, LA
Area
Whole counties

County Catahoula Parish, LA

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

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 182 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, Jackson, MS at 00:00Z on 1989-04-30Temperature 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, Jackson, MS at 00:00Z on 1989-04-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 37 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
0 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-7 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBTR 300045
TORBTR
LAC025-300100-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BATON ROUGE LA
732 PM CDT  APR 29 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BATON ROUGE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  800 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING PARISH...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL LOUISIANA
          ...SOUTHERN CATAHOULA
 
AT 725 PM CDT THE JONESVILLE SHERIFF OFFICE SPOTTED A TORNADO TOUCHING
GROUND SOUTH OF JONESVILLE. RADAR SHOWED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN THE
VICINITY OF JONESVILLE. THE THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING SLOWLY EAST.
 
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.  OTHERWIHSE...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.

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 29, 4:26 PM CDT, 3 hours 6 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BATON ROUGE LA
425 PM CDT SAT APR 29 1989

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING IN EAST CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

AT 420 PM RADAR SHOWED A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED
FROM SOUTHWEST OF PORT BARRE EAST TO SOUTHWEST OF BATON ROUGE.  LITTLE
MOVEMENT WAS SHOWN.

VERY HEAVY RAINS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS CAUSING LOCAL
FLOODING OF STREETS AND OTHER LOW LYING AREAS.  STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND
HAIL ARE POSSIBLE.

THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH OUT THE AFTERNOON.
PEOPLE IN EAST CENTRAL LOUISIANA SHOULD BE ALERT AND READY FOR QUICK
ACTION IF SEVERE WEATHER IS SIGHTED.
Special weather statement, Apr 29, 5:20 PM CDT, 2 hours 12 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BATON ROUGE LA
520 PM CDT SAT APR 29 1989

...SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS OVER SECTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

AT 520 PM RADAR SHOWED A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED NEAR
PORT BARRE IN ST LANDRY PARISH AND A STRONG THUNDERSTORM HAD DEVELOPED
OVER LOWER LIVINGSTON PARISH.  THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE DRIFTING EAST.

VERY HEAVY RAINS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS CAUSING LOCAL
FLOODING OF STREETS AND OTHER LOW LYING AREAS.  STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND
HAIL ARE POSSIBLE.

THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH OUT THE AFTERNOON.
PEOPLE IN EAST CENTRAL LOUISIANA SHOULD BE ALERT AND READY FOR QUICK
ACTION IF SEVERE WEATHER IS SIGHTED.

The office that day

Everything else NWS New Orleans, LA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 29, 7:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXWashington61 min
Apr 29, 8:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXSaint Tammany, Washington65 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Louisiana, 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.