Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Memphis, TN

February 20, 1989Clay County, Mississippi

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Feb 20, 1989, 8:10 PM CST for Clay County, Mississippi. It was in force for 50 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
Feb 20, 1989, 8:10 PM CST (02:10 UTC)
Expired
Feb 20, 1989, 9:00 PM CST
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Whole counties

County Clay 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Feb 20, 8:30 PM CSTThunderstorm Wind 0Clay, 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 00:00Z, 2.2 hours before the alert went out and 169 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 1989-02-21Temperature 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 1989-02-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 60 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
3593 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
88 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
60 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
183 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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, Feb 20, 4:41 PM CST, 3 hours 29 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUPELO MS
435 PM CST MON FEB 20 1989

AT 430 PM CST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED ISOLATED HEAVY
RAINSHOWERS  IN NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI.  THIS ACTIVITY WAS OCCURING
FROM NORTH OF BATESVILLE TO SOUTHWEST OF CORINTH.  WIDESPREAD LIGHT
RAIN COVERED A LARGE PORTION OF NORTH MISSISSIPPI AND WESTERN
TENNESSEE.

THIS SHOWER ACTIVITY WAS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.

STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFROMATION.
Special weather statement, Feb 20, 5:39 PM CST, 2 hours 31 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUPELO MS
535 PM CST MON FEB 20 1989

AT 530 PM CST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED AN AREA OF VERY
HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS OCCURING FROM SOUTHWEST OF OXFORD TO NORTHWEST OF
RIPLEY.  THESES THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST SOUTHEAST AT 25
MILES AN HOUR.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE BRIEF PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY
WIND AND POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL.

PERSONS IN NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI SHOULD REMAIN WEATHER ALERT AND BE
PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD THREATENING WEATHER APPROACH.

STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFROMATION.
Special weather statement, Feb 20, 6:28 PM CST, 1 hour 42 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUPELO MS
630 PM CST MON FEB 20 1989

AT 250 PM CST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED AN AREA OF VERY
HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS OCCURING FROM EAST OF OXFORD TO SOUTH OF NEW
ALBANY TO BOONEVILLE.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST SOUTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN
HOUR.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE BRIEF PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY
WIND AND POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL.

PERSONS IN NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI SHOULD REMAIN WEATHER ALERT AND BE
PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD THREATENING WEATHER APPROACH.

STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFROMATION.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 20, 8:00 PM CSTTornado WarningMEGOktibbeha30 min
Feb 20, 8:50 PM CSTTornado WarningMEGMonroe70 min
Feb 20, 9:10 PM CSTTornado WarningMEGItawamba50 min
Feb 20, 10:00 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningMEGLee5 hr
Feb 21, 2:30 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningMEGLee4 hr

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.