Alert archive / Kentucky / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4, NWS Louisville, KY

April 3, 1989Meade County, Kentucky; Harrison County, Indiana

NWS Louisville, KY issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 3, 1989, 8:38 PM EDT for Meade County, Kentucky; Harrison County, Indiana. It was in force for 52 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
Apr 3, 1989, 8:38 PM EDT (00:38 UTC)
Expired
Apr 3, 1989, 9:30 PM EDT
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Louisville, KY
Area
Whole counties

Counties Harrison County, IN, Meade County, KY

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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 3, 9:12 PM EDTHail 1.5Meade, KY

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

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 221 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1989-04-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 119 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1989-04-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 337 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
119 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-120 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
735 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
337 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
419 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

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 severe thunderstorm 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 3, 4:07 PM EDT, 4 hours 31 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Apr 3, 5:11 PM EDT, 3 hours 27 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
508 PM EDT MON APR 3 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR A SMALL PORTION OF NORTHWEST
   KENTUCKY UNTIL 9 PM EDT TONIGHT...

AT 5 PM EST A FEW THUNDERSHOWERS WERE SCATTERED OVER THE SOUTH CENTRAL
PARTS OF KENTUCKY NEAR LONDON. AS CLOUDS THIN OVER THE STATE DURING THE
LATE AFTERNOON HOURS THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP IN THE WARM AND
UNSTABLE AIR OVER THE COMMONWEALTH. TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE
UPPER 60S AND 70S.

IN ADDITION...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST ACROSS MISSOURI
AND SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND THESE WILL BE MOVING EAST ACROSS PARTS OF
WEST KENTUCKY BY EARLY EVENING.

PERSONS IN THE WATCH AREA ARE ADVISED TO REMAIN ALERT TO RAPIDLY
CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND SEEK SHELTER IF THE WEATHER BECOMES
UNUSUALLY THREATENING.

SCHOLZ
Special weather statement, Apr 3, 6:13 PM EDT, 2 hours 25 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
610 PM EDT MON APR 3 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR A SMALL PORTION OF NORTHWEST
   KENTUCKY UNTIL 9 PM EDT TONIGHT...

AT 6 PM EST A FEW THUNDERSHOWERS WERE SCATTERED OVER THE SOUTH CENTRAL
PARTS OF KENTUCKY NEAR LONDON. SKIES WILL REMAIN MOSTLY CLOUDY AND
TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE UPPER 60S AND 70S.

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST ACROSS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND
SOUTHWEST INDIANA. THESE SHOULD REMAIN JUST NORTH OF THE OHIO RIVER AS
THEY MOVE EAST ACROSS SOUTHERN INDIANA. OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
MOVING EAST ACROSS SOUTHEAST MISSOURI WILL MOVE INTO FAR WEST KENTUCKY
EARLY THIS EVENING.

PERSONS IN THE WATCH AREA ARE ADVISED TO REMAIN ALERT TO RAPIDLY
CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND SEEK SHELTER IF THE WEATHER BECOMES
UNUSUALLY THREATENING.

SCHOLZ
Special weather statement, Apr 3, 7:18 PM EDT, 1 hour 20 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
714 PM EDT MON APR 3 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR A LARGE PART OF WEST AND CENTRAL
   KENTUCKY UNTIL 1 AM EDT TUESDAY MORNING...

THE NEW TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 77 THAT WAS IN
EFFECT FOR THE WEST PARTS OF KENTUCKY.

AT 7 PM EDT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING OVER THE EAST
CENTRAL PARTS OF KENTUCKY WITH CLOUDY SKIES TEMPERATURES IN THE
MID 60S TO MID 70S OVER THE REST OF KENTUCKY.

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST ACROSS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND
SOUTHWEST INDIANA. LARGE HAIL AND EVEN A TORNADO HAVE BEEN REPORTED
WITH THESE STORMS. THESE STORMS SHOULD REMAIN NORTH OF THE OHIO RIVER
BUT WILL BE MOVING THROUGH THE INDIANA COUNTIES TO THE NORTH OF
LOUISVILLE.
<
OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHEAST MISSOURI WILL BE MOVING
INTO FAR WEST KENTUCKY WITHIN THE NEXT FEW HOURS.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE VERY DANGEROUS. IF YOU AREE IN OR NEAR THE WATCH
AREA LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. IF THE WEATHER
BECOMES UNSUALLY THREATENING SEEK A PLACE OF SAFETY.

SCHOLZ
Special weather statement, Apr 3, 8:19 PM EDT, 19 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LEXINGTON KENTUCKY
814 PM EDT MON APR 3 1989

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN EAST CENTRAL KENTUCKY...

AT 810 PM EDT WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A STRONG THUNDERSTORMS LOCATED IN
BOURBON COUNTY JUST SOUTH OF PARIS, KENTUCKY. ANOTHER STRONG THUNDER/
STORM WAS LOCATED IN ROBERTSON COUNTY JUST SOUTH OF MOUNT OLIVET,
KENTUCKY. THE STORMS ARE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
HEAVY RAIN..DANGEROUS LIGHT5NING..SMALL HAIL AND STRONG GUSTY SURFACE
WINDS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.

SZAPPANOS
Special weather statement, Apr 3, 8:33 PM EDT, 5 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LEXINGTON KENTUCKY
814 PM EDT MON APR 3 1989

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN EAST CENTRAL KENTUCKY...

AT 810 PM EDT WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A STRONG THUNDERSTORMS LOCATED IN
BOURBON COUNTY JUST SOUTH OF PARIS, KENTUCKY. ANOTHER STRONG THUNDER/
STORM WAS LOCATED IN ROBERTSON COUNTY JUST SOUTH OF MOUNT OLIVET,
KENTUCKY. THE STORMS ARE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
HEAVY RAIN..DANGEROUS LIGHT@NING..SMALL HAIL AND STRONG GUSTY SURFACE
WINDS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.

SZAPPANOS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Louisville, KY issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 3, 8:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKBreckinridge52 min
Apr 3, 9:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKBullitt, Hardin, Jefferson59 min
Apr 3, 9:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKOldham59 min
Apr 3, 9:53 PM EDTTornado WarningLMKBullitt, Jefferson37 min
Apr 3, 10:23 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKNelson67 min
Apr 3, 10:23 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKHenry, Shelby, Spencer67 min
Apr 4, 12:28 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningLMKJefferson3 hr
Apr 4, 12:39 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKHardin, Nelson36 min
Apr 4, 12:39 AM EDTTornado WarningLMKHardin, Nelson36 min
Apr 4, 12:59 AM EDTTornado WarningLMKSpencer46 min
Apr 4, 1:07 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKCasey, Marion, Taylor53 min
Apr 4, 1:07 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKWashington53 min
Apr 4, 1:09 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKBoyle51 min
Apr 4, 1:26 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKLincoln, Pulaski, Rockcastle49 min
Apr 4, 1:31 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKFayette, Garrard, Madison59 min
Apr 3, 8:05 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKCrawford, Orange55 min
Apr 3, 9:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKClark, Floyd57 min
Apr 3, 10:18 PM EDTTornado WarningLMKHarrison27 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kentucky, 1989Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Indiana, 1989Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.