Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 20, NWS Memphis, TN

May 20, 1989Shelby County, Tennessee

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at May 20, 1989, 11:42 AM CDT for Shelby County, Tennessee. It was in force for 33 min. 2 reports 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, 11:42 AM CDT (16:42 UTC)
Expired
May 20, 1989, 12:15 PM CDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Whole counties

County Shelby 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 20, 11:45 AM CDTHail 1.75Shelby, TN
May 20, 12:05 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 0Shelby, 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 12:00Z, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 40 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 12:00Z on 1989-05-20Temperature 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 12:00Z on 1989-05-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 47 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMEM 201644
TORMEM
TNC157-201715-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1142 AM CDT SAT MAY 20 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1215 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN WEST TENNESSEE
          ...SHELBY
 
AT 1130 AM CDT A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED OVER OVERTON PARK NEAR THE
ZOO AREA IN MEMPHIS. WEATHER RADAR INDICATES A STRONG LINE OF
THUNDERSTORMS MOVING THROUGH MEMPHIS AND SHELBY COUNTY TOWARD THE EAST
AT 35 MPH.
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE..._SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 20, 11:16 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGShelby44 min
May 20, 12:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGFayette54 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Tennessee, 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.