Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 4, NWS Little Rock, AR
NWS Little Rock, AR issued this tornado warning at Apr 3, 1989, 5:50 PM CDT for Newton County, Arkansas. It was in force for 40 min. 2 reports 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, 5:50 PM CDT (22:50 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 3, 1989, 6:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 40 min
- Issued by
- NWS Little Rock, AR
- Area
- Whole counties
County Newton County, AR
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 6:00 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Newton, AR | |
| Apr 3, 6:30 PM CDT | Hail 2 | Newton, AR |
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
Springfield, MO (KUMN), launched 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 121 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
- 1226 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -125 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 790 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 48 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 193 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 158 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.1
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 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 3, 2:51 PM CDT, 2 hours 59 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 250 PM CDT SUN APR 3 1989 ...TORNADO WATCH FOR NORTHERN AND NORTHWESTERN ARKANSAS... TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 78 HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ALL OF NORTHERN AND MOST OF NORTHWESTERN ARKANSAS FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE AREA COVERED BY THE WATCH IS GENERALLY NORTH OF A LINE FROM NEAR MENA TO MORRILLTON TO BLYTHEVILLE AND IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM. A COLD FRONT ON THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE STATE AT MID-AFTERNOON IS THE PRIMARY REASON FOR THE WATCH. THE ATMOSPHERE OVER THE STATE IS VERY WARM..HUMID AND UNSTABLE. AS THE FRONT PUSHES INTO THIS ATMOSPHERE... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE DEVELOPING ALONG THE FRONT. THE AIR IS UNSTABLE ENOUGH THAT THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME SEVERE..POSSIBLY PRODUCING TORNADOS. REMEMBER..A WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE FORMATION OF SEVERE WEATHER. A WARNING MEANS SEVERE WEATHER IS OCCURING OR HAS BEEN REPORTED. THOSE IN THE WATCH AREA SHOULD BEGIN TO REVIEW THEIR SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY RULES...KEEP AN EYE ON THE WEATHER...BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY...AND LISTEN FOR WARNINGS AND LATER STATEMENTS. 39
Special weather statement, Apr 3, 4:20 PM CDT, 1 hour 30 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 421 PM CDT MON APR 3 1989 ...TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES FOR NORTHERN AND NORTHWESTERN ARKANSAS... A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDS FROM SOUTHWEST MISSOURI INTO NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR CARROLL COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS UNTIL 5 PM TONIGHT. WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER OTHER PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. ALL OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST NORTHEAST AROUND 50 MILES AN HOUR. PERSONS ACROSS THE NORTHERN PORTION OF ARKANSAS SHOULD WATCH FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS IN THEIR AREA AS THESE THUNDERSTORMS WORK THEIR WAY EASTWARD. LARGE HAIL AND STRONG WINDS ALONG WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF TORNADOES MAY OCCUR DURING THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM TONIGHT. 25,
Special weather statement, Apr 3, 4:31 PM CDT, 1 hour 19 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 425 PM CDT MON APR 3 1989 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 78 IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN ARKANSAS UNTIL 9 PM... ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IN EFFECT FOR CARROLL COUNTY UNTIL UNTIL 5 PM... AT 425 PM...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM POSSIBLY CONTAINING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WAS LOCATED NEAR BERRYVILLE IN CARROLL COUNTY. THE THUNDERSTORM WAS PART OF A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS THAT EXTENDED FROM SOUTHERN MISSOURI ACROSS HUNTSVILLE ARKANSAS TO NEAR CLARKSVILLE. THE THUNDERSTORMS IN THE LINE ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HAIL...STRONG WINDS AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 4>5 MILES AN HOUR. 104
Special weather statement, Apr 3, 4:45 PM CDT, 1 hour 5 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT SMITH AR 440 PM CDT MON APR 3 1989 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 78 IS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN AND NORTHWESTERN ARKANSAS UNTIL 900 PM CDT TONIGHT... RADAR AT 440 PM CDT SHOWED AN AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS NEAR HARRISON SOUTHWEST ACROSS MADISON...SOUTHEASTERN WASHINGTON FRANKLIN AND WEST JOHNSON COUNTIES. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN EAST CARROLL COUNTY. PERSONS IN THE AREAS OF THESE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS CAN EXPECT HEAVY DOWNPOURS OF RAIN...DEADLY LIGHTNING...BRIEF GUSTY WIND AND HAIL. PERSONS SHOULD STAY INDOORS AND OFF THE BARE GROUND IN THE AREAS OF LIGHTNING. E
The office that day
Everything else NWS Little Rock, AR issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 4:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Carroll | 45 min |
| Apr 3, 4:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Boone | 55 min |
| Apr 3, 5:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Marion | 59 min |
| Apr 3, 5:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Newton | 60 min |
| Apr 3, 5:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Stone, Van Buren | 61 min |
| Apr 3, 5:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Boone | 60 min |
| Apr 3, 6:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Fulton, Izard | 53 min |
| Apr 3, 6:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Searcy | 53 min |
| Apr 3, 6:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Marion | 45 min |
| Apr 3, 6:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Sharp | 54 min |
| Apr 3, 6:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Stone | 45 min |
| Apr 3, 6:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Independence | 50 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Arkansas, 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.