Alert archive / Mississippi / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 6, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Mar 30, 1989, 7:58 PM CST for Coahoma County, Mississippi. It was in force for 17 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
- Mar 30, 1989, 7:58 PM CST (01:58 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 30, 1989, 8:15 PM CST
- In force
- 17 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
County Coahoma 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 30, 8:04 PM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Coahoma, MS | |
| Mar 30, 8:05 PM CST | Hail 0.75 | Coahoma, 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, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 90 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
- 3589 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 32 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -33 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 126 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 310159
TORMEM
MSC027-310215-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
758 PM CST THU MAR 30 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 815 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI
...COAHOMA
AT 755 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO ASSOCIATED WITH A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM LOCATED ABOUT 10 MILES NORTH OF CLARKSDALE. THE
THUNDERSTORM AND ASSOCIATED POSSIBLE TORNADO WERE MOVING TOWARD THE
EAST AT 45 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.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, Mar 30, 5:32 PM CST, 2 hours 26 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 530 PM CST THU MAR 30 1989 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 70 CONTINUES IN EFFECT ACROSS MUCH OF ARKANSAS ALONG WITH EXTREME WEST TENNESSEE AND EXTREME NORTH WEST MISSISSSIPPI... AT 525 PM WEATHER RADAR CONTINUED TO DETECT VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ARKANSAS...ROUGHLY BETWEEN LONOKE AND CORNING. THE STRONGEST WERE INDICATED TO BE NEAR DES ARC...ANOTHER JUST NORTH OF CORNING...AND SOUTHWEST OF DELAPLANE. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING TOWARD THE EAST-NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. LARGE HAIL WAS BEEN REPORTED WITH THE MORE INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS AS THEY TRACKED OVER CENTRAL AND NORTH ARKANSAS EARLIER THIS EVENING. WEATHER CONDITIONS APPEAR TO FAVOR FURTHER INTENSIFICATION DURING THE NEXT HOUR OR SO. STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR LATER UPDATES ON THIS POTENTIALLY DESTRUCTIVE WEATHER SITUATION.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 30, 6:49 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | DeSoto | 41 min |
| Mar 30, 7:42 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | DeSoto, Marshall | 48 min |
| Mar 30, 8:09 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Quitman | 36 min |
| Mar 30, 8:23 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Benton | 37 min |
| Mar 30, 8:26 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Panola | 49 min |
| Mar 30, 8:50 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Lafayette | 20 min |
| Mar 30, 9:20 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Union | 25 min |
| Mar 30, 9:50 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MEG | Lee, Pontotoc | 25 min |
| Mar 30, 10:15 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Itawamba | 30 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.