Alert archive / Missouri / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 36, NWS St. Louis, MO

May 24, 1989Adair County, Knox County, Missouri

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 24, 1989, 9:12 AM CDT for Adair County, Knox County, Missouri. It was in force for 48 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 24, 1989, 9:12 AM CDT (14:12 UTC)
Expired
May 24, 1989, 10:00 AM CDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Whole counties

Counties Adair County, MO, Knox County, MO

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
May 24, 9:25 AM CDTHail 0.75Adair, MO

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

Peoria Regional, IL (KPIA), launched 12:00Z, 2.2 hours before the alert went out and 242 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, Peoria Regional, IL at 12:00Z on 1989-05-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 691 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, Peoria Regional, IL at 12:00Z on 1989-05-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 140 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
691 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-130 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1099 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
140 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
140 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSTL 241414
SVRSTL
MOC001-103-241500-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
912 AM CDT WED MAY 24 1989

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 AM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF

NORTHEAST MISSOURI...
    ADAIR AND KNOX

AT 910 AM CDT A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS NEAR KIRKSVILLE MOVING TO
THE EAST NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.  HALF INCH TO THREE QUARTER INCH
HAIL WAS REPORTED JUST SOUTHWEST OF KIRKSVILLE AT 910 AM.

REMEMBER A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS
OF 60 MPH..LARGE HAIL..DEADLY LIGHTNING..AND HEAVY RAIN THAT CAN
QUICKLY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS.
.
PLEASE REPORT ANY SEVERE WEATHER TO YOUR NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
OR THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

MCCARTHY

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, May 24, 3:44 AM CDT, 5 hours 28 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
335 AM CDT WED MAY 24 1989

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR NORTHEAST MISSOURI...

A CLUSTER OF VERY STRONG..AND POTENTIALLY SEVERE..THUNDERSTORMS WERE
LOCATED ACROSS SOUTHEAST IOWA AND WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH AS
OF 330 AM.

THESE STORMS COULD MOVE ACROSS PORTIONS OF SCHUYLER..SCOTLAND AND
CLARK COUNTIES OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI BETWEEN 4 AND 6AM THIS MORNING
AND PRODUCE HIGH WINDS OR HAIL.

PERSONS IN THESE COUNTIES SHOULD KEEP ALERT AND LISTEN FOR POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

FELDT
Special weather statement, May 24, 4:29 AM CDT, 4 hours 43 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAINT LOUIS, MO
430 AM CDT WED MAY 24 1989

...POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER NEXT 24 HOURS...
...MISSOURI SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK...

THERE IS A HIGH RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND POSSIBLY TORNADOES
ACROSS THE NORTHERN THIRD OF MISSOURI TODAY AND TONIGHT.  THERE IS A
SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE
STATE AS WELL.

VERY WARM..MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR WAS PUSHING INTO MISSSOURI EARLY
THIS MORNING ON STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS.  TEMPERATURES TODAY WILL REACH
WELL INTO THE 80S WHILE DEW POINTS APPROACH 70 DEGREES.  THIS WILL
SET THE STAGE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

A COLD FRONT WILL PUSH OUT OF THE PLAINS AND REACH THE MISSOURI BORDER
THIS EVENING.  ALONG THIS CONTRASTING LINE BETWEEN HOT MOIST AIR AND
COOLER DRIER AIR...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST TO DEVELOP.

AS OF 430AM...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALREADY INDICATED IN
THE FAR NORTHEAST TIP OF MISSOURI.  ALTHOUGH THESE STORMS ARE
SEPERATE FROM THE SEVERE STORMS EXPECTED LATER TODAY..THEY ARE AN
INDICATION OF THE INSTABILITY IN THE ATMOSPHERE.

A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP LATER TODAY
IN THE PLAINS AND REACH NORTHWEST MISSOURI THIS EVENING.  THE VERY
STRONG WINDS AT THE EARTHS SURFACE AS WELL AS A FAVORABLE POSITION
OF THE JET STREAM INDICATE A LIKELYHOOD FOR TORNADOES WITH A FEW
OF THESE STORMS.

ONCE THE MAIN SQUALL LINE FORMS IT SHOULD CONTINUE TO MOVE RAPLDLY
EASTWARD THROUGH THE NIGHT AND EFFECT EASTERN SECTIONS OF THE STATE
WELL INTO THE NIGHT.

KEEP INFORMED ON THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION BY LISTENING
FOR ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE THROUGHOUT THE DAY.

FELDT
Special weather statement, May 24, 4:54 AM CDT, 4 hours 18 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAINT LOUIS, MO
450 AM CDT WED MAY 24 1989

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NORTHEAST MISSOURI UNTIL 7AM...

AT 450 AM..A LINE OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS LOCATED ACROSS
THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SCHUYLER AND SCOTLAND COUNTIES.  THE
STRONGEST STORM WAS LOCATED JUST NORTH OF MEMPHIS IN SCOTLAND
COUNTY.

THESE STORMS ARE PRODUCING FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING..
AS WELL AS A CHANCE FOR HAIL OR HIGH WINDS.

BETWEEN 5 AND 6AM...VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE
REMAINDER OF SCHUYLER..SCOTLAND AND CLARK COUNTIES AND INTO PARTS
OF ADAIR AND KNOX COUNTIES.

PERSONS IN THESE COUNTIES SHOULD KEEP ALERT FOR POSSIBLE SEVERE
WEATHER.

FELDT
Special weather statement, May 24, 6:53 AM CDT, 2 hours 19 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAINT LOUIS, MO
700 AM CDT WED MAY 24 1989

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH EXPIRES...

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NO 311 WILL EXPIRE AT 7AM.  eONE REMAINING
STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED IN SOUTHEAST IOWA..AND IT COULD
MOVE ACROSS CLARK COUNTY MISSOURI BEFORE 8AM.

The office that day

Everything else NWS St. Louis, MO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 24, 4:06 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXClark, Scotland69 min
May 24, 4:06 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXSchuyler69 min
May 24, 10:09 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXMacon51 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Missouri, 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.