Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 6, NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued this tornado warning at May 17, 1989, 12:03 AM CDT for Gaines County, Texas. It was in force for 57 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 17, 1989, 12:03 AM CDT (05:03 UTC)
- Expired
- May 17, 1989, 1:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 57 min
- Issued by
- NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County Gaines 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 12:10 AM CDT | Tornado F1 | Gaines, 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, 5.1 hours before the alert went out and 97 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 3542 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 46 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 52 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 150 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KMAF 170505
TORMAF
TXC165-170600-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX
1203 AM CDT WED MAY 17 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIDLAND HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 100 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN NORTHWEST TEXAS
...GAINES
AT 1155 PM CDT...RADAR AND SKYWARN INFORMATION INDICATES A POSSIBLE
TORNADO DEVELOPING IN GAINES COUNTY...BETWEEN SEMINOLE AND 9 MILES
SOUTH OF SEMINOLE. SEVERAL SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOW PASSING
THROUGH GAINES COUNTY.
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. OTHERWISE...G7O 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, May 16, 6:29 PM CDT, 5 hours 34 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX 627 PM CDT TUE MAY 16 1989 ...TORNADO WATCH FOR NORTH PART OF PERMIAN BASIN...SOUTH PLAINS... THE BIG COUNTRY...AND THE CONCHO VALLEY UNTIL 900 PM CDT... ...TORNADO WATCH FOR SOUTHERN PECOS RIVER VALLEY TILL 1100 PM CDT... AT 625 PM CDT...A THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WAS 30 MILES NORTH EAST OF SAN ANGELO. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND RADIO OR TV FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, May 16, 6:32 PM CDT, 5 hours 31 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY...CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX 627 PM CDT TUE MAY 16 1989 ...TORNADO WATCH FOR NORTH PART OF PERMIAN BASIN...SOUTH PLAINS... THE BIG COUNTRY...AND THE CONCHO VALLEY UNTIL 900 PM CDT... ...TORNADO WATCH FOR SOUTHERN PECOS RIVER VALLEY TILL 1100 PM CDT... AT 625 PM CDT...A THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WAS 30 MILES NORTH EAST OF SAN ANGELO. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND RADIO OR TV FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, May 16, 7:30 PM CDT, 4 hours 33 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND TX 726 PM CDT TUE MAY 16 1989 ...TORNADO WATCH FOR NORTH PART OF PERMIAN BASIN...THE SOUTH PLAINS... THE BIG COUNTRY...AND THE CONCHO VALLEY UNTIL 900 PM CDT... ...TORNADO WATCH FOR SOUTHERN PECOS RIVER VALLEY TILL 1100 PM CDT... AT 725 PM CDT...A THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WAS LOCATED 25 MILES SOUTH OF ABILENE. ANOTHER THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WAS 25 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MIDLAND. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS AND RAINSHOWERS WERE SCATTERED THROUGHOUT WEST TEXAS AND SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL R7ADIO OR TV FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Midland/Odessa, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 8:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MAF | Midland | 40 min |
| May 16, 8:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MAF | Howard | 67 min |
| May 16, 9:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MAF | Howard | 41 min |
| May 16, 10:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MAF | Andrews | 60 min |
| May 16, 11:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MAF | Gaines | 63 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.