Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 31, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Nov 15, 1989, 11:44 AM CST for Mississippi County, Arkansas. It was in force for 31 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
- Nov 15, 1989, 11:44 AM CST (17:44 UTC)
- Expired
- Nov 15, 1989, 12:15 PM CST
- In force
- 31 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
County Mississippi County, AR
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 15, 11:49 AM CST | Hail 1 | Mississippi, AR |
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, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 104 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
- 3593 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 279 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 264 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 KMEM 151746 RRA
TORMEM
ARC093-151815-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1144 AM CST WED NOV 15 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1215 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN EAST ARKANSAS
...MISSISSIPPI
A TORNADO WAS OBSERVED BY THE LEPANTO ARKANSAS POLICE. A HIGH SCHOOL
GYM WAS DEROOFED AND COTTON TRAILERS WERE DAMAGED.
THIS STORM CONTINUES MOVING TO THE EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. PRESENT
MOVEMENT SHOULD TAKE THIS STORM NEAR OSCEOLA ARKANSAS IN THE
NEXT 30 MINUTES.
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH7 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.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, Nov 15, 10:48 AM CST, 56 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUPELO MS
1048 AM CST WED NOV 15 1989
...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER NORTH MISSISSIPPI...
...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL
MISSISSIPPI UNTIL 300 PM THIS AFTERNOON...
AT 1030 AM CST...TUPELO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR WAS
INDICATING STRONG THUNDERSTORN DEVEOLPMENT FROM WESTERN GRENADA
COUNTY EXTENDING TO THE NORTHEAST TO SOUTHERN HARDEMAN COUNTY IN
SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE.
TRHE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS INDICATED BY RADAR WAS LOCATED OVER
MARSHALL AND BENTON COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI.
THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.
MORE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE DEVELOPING TODAY AS THE COLD FRONT NEARS OUR AREA OUR AREA AND PEOPLE IN NORTH MISSISSIPPI SHOULD BECOME WEATHER ALERT
SHOULD CONDITIONS START TO DETERIORATE.
MORE STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS CONDITIONS WARRANT.The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 15, 10:18 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Clay, Greene | 27 min |
| Nov 15, 10:34 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Craighead, Poinsett | 56 min |
| Nov 15, 11:13 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Cross | 47 min |
| Nov 15, 11:19 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Mississippi | 41 min |
| Nov 15, 11:37 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Phillips | 53 min |
| Nov 15, 12:22 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Crittenden | 68 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.