Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 12, NWS Memphis, TN

April 3, 1989Poinsett County, Arkansas

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Apr 3, 1989, 9:37 PM CDT for Poinsett County, Arkansas. It was in force for 38 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 3, 1989, 9:37 PM CDT (02:37 UTC)
Expired
Apr 3, 1989, 10:15 PM CDT
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Whole counties

County Poinsett County, AR

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 105 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 1989-04-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 1989-04-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 161 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
3544 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
161 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
336 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMEM 040238
TORMEM
ARC111-040315-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
937 PM CDT MON APR 3 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1015 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN EAST ARKANSAS
          ...EASTERN POINSETT
 
AT 935 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO BETWEEN
HARRISBURG AND MARKED TREE ... MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. THE THUNDERSTORM
WITH WHICH THIS POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS ASSOCIATED WILL AFFECT
PAYNEWAY...WEONA...AND MARKED TREE BETWEEN 940 PM AND 10 PM TONIGHT.
 
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...GO 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, Apr 3, 7:05 PM CDT, 2 hours 32 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  MEMPHIS TN
700 PM CDT MON APR 03 1989

 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 78 CONTINUES TO AFFECT PORTIONS OF
NORTHEAST ARKANAS...
...LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING TOWARD NORTHEAST ARKANSAS...

A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS AT 7 PM EXTENDED FROM SOUTH OF CAPE GIRARDEAU
MISSOURI TO NORTH-CENTRAL ARKANSAS NEAR VAN BUREN. THESE THUNDERSTORMS
HAVE HAD  HISTORY OF PRODUCING HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

THIS LINE IS MOVING SOUTHEAST AROUND 20 MPH SO IN A COUPLE OF HOURS
THE LINE SHOULD BE REACHING CLAY AND GREENE COUNTIES IN NORTHEAST
ARKANSAS...SO RESIDENTS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR SEVERE
WEATHER AND CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION
VIA NOAA WEATHER RADIO...TELEVISION AND  COMMERCIAL RADIO

SHOULD YOU EXPERIENCE SEVERE WEATHER...INFORM YOUR LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY AND REQUEST THAT THEY RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 3, 8:16 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGCraighead, Poinsett29 min
Apr 3, 8:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGPoinsett33 min
Apr 3, 8:48 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGCraighead27 min
Apr 3, 9:10 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGMississippi35 min
Apr 3, 9:34 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGCross26 min
Apr 3, 9:49 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGMississippi26 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.