Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 19, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at May 20, 1989, 9:30 AM CDT for Alcorn County, Mississippi. It was in force for 60 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 20, 1989, 9:30 AM CDT (14:30 UTC)
- Expired
- May 20, 1989, 10:30 AM CDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
County Alcorn County, MS
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 20, 9:40 AM CDT | Hail 2 | Alcorn, MS |
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 12:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 125 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
- 3616 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 14 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 47 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 47 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 KTUP 201429 TORTUP MSC003-201530- BULLETIN EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUPELO MS 930 AM CDT SAT MAY 20 1989 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1030 AM CDT FOR PERSONS IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI...ALCORN AT 928 AM CDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO BETWEEN BIGGERSVILLE AND CORINTH. MOVEMENT IS EAST SOUTHEAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR. AT 910 AM CDT...A TORNADO WAS SPOTTED BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER NORTH OF KOSSUTH. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO..GO TO A STORM CELLAR OR A CENTRAL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES AND GO TO A CONCRETE OR BRICK BUILDING.
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 20, 5:13 AM CDT, 4 hours 17 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 505 AM CDT SAT MAY 20 1989 THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE REMOVED FROM SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 275. ALL THE AFFECTED COUNTIES IN WEST TENNESSEE...AND THESE WERE BENTON CARROL DECATUR HARDIN HENDERSON HENRY. IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE CLAY...HOUSTON...MACON...ROBERTSON...STEWART...SUMNER...TROUSDALE... IN EAST TENNESSEE PICKETT THE LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAS MOVED SOUTH OF THE FOREMENTIONED COUNTIES...AND THEREFORE THEY ARE REMOVED FROM THE WATCH AREA.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 8:30 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Alcorn, Tippah | 60 min |
| May 20, 10:28 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Prentiss | 38 min |
| May 20, 11:16 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | DeSoto | 44 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 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.