Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Memphis, TN

April 3, 1989Lauderdale County, Tennessee

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Apr 3, 1989, 9:52 PM CDT for Lauderdale County, Tennessee. It was in force for 38 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: Apr 3, 1989, 9:52 PM CDT (02:52 UTC)
Expired: Apr 3, 1989, 10:30 PM CDT
In force: 38 min
Issued by: NWS Memphis, TN
Area: Whole counties

County Lauderdale County, TN

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, 10:10 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 0	Lauderdale, TN

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

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 2.9 hours before the alert went out and 107 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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 040253
TORMEM
TNC097-040330-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
952 PM CDT MON APR 3 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1030 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN WEST TENNESSEE
          ...WESTERN LAUDERDALE
 
AT 950 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO ASSOCIATED WITH A
THUNDERSTORM MOVING EAST ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER INTO SOUTHWEST
LAUDERDALE COUNTY. THIS STORM WILL AFFECT THE CHERRY AND FORT PILLOW
AREAS BETWEEN 950 PM AND 1015 PM TONIGHT.
 
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.

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 47 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 3, 10:08 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Lauderdale, Tipton	37 min
Apr 3, 10:28 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Haywood	32 min
Apr 3, 10:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Shelby	51 min
Apr 3, 10:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Madison	51 min
Apr 3, 10:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Fayette	44 min
Apr 3, 10:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Hardeman	53 min
Apr 3, 11:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Carroll	41 min
Apr 3, 11:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Henderson	49 min
Apr 3, 11:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Chester	45 min
Apr 3, 11:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Shelby	53 min
Apr 3, 11:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Decatur, Hardin	45 min
Apr 3, 11:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Benton	53 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Tennessee, 1989 Every tornado warning in 1989 Tornadoes 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.