Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Midland/Odessa, TX

June 4, 1989Martin County, Texas

NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued this tornado warning at Jun 4, 1989, 2:20 AM CDT for Martin County, Texas. It was in force for 55 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
Jun 4, 1989, 2:20 AM CDT (07:20 UTC)
Expired
Jun 4, 1989, 3:15 AM CDT
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Martin County, TX

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
Jun 4, 2:30 AM CDTTornado F1Martin, TX
Jun 4, 2:56 AM CDTTornado F0Martin, TX

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

Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 00:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 46 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, Midland Regional, TX at 00:00Z on 1989-06-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2368 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, Midland Regional, TX at 00:00Z on 1989-06-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 26 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
2368 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-81 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1708 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
30 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMAF 040721
TORMAF
TXC317-040815-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
220 AM CDT SUN JUN 4 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIDLAND HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  315 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN NORTHWEST TEXAS
          ...MARTIN
 
AT 218 AM CDT A CITIZEN IN TARZAN REPORTED OBSERVING A TORNADO TO HER
WEST THAT WAS BOUNCING ALONG THE GROUND.
 
THE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING THIS WAS MOVING EAST AT 30 TO 35 MILES AN
HOUR. CITIZENS IN TARZAN AND LENORAH ARE GOING TO BE VERY CLOSE TO THE
PATH OF THIS STORM AND SHOULD TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.
 
THIS UPGRADES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING CURRENTLY IN EFFECT FOR
MARTIN COUNTY.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 3, 7:08 PM CDTTornado WarningMAFMidland67 min
Jun 3, 7:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFUpton55 min
Jun 3, 8:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFGlasscock62 min
Jun 3, 8:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFEctor58 min
Jun 3, 9:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFGlasscock58 min
Jun 3, 9:46 PM CDTTornado WarningMAFEctor59 min
Jun 3, 10:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFMartin68 min
Jun 3, 10:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFMidland65 min
Jun 3, 11:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFGaines62 min
Jun 3, 11:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFWinkler62 min
Jun 3, 11:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFAndrews67 min
Jun 4, 1:08 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFAndrews52 min
Jun 4, 2:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMAFMartin55 min
Jun 4, 2:37 AM CDTTornado WarningMAFHoward68 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 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.