Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Miami, FL

March 24, 1989Broward County, Florida

NWS Miami, FL issued this tornado warning at Mar 24, 1989, 4:56 PM EST for Broward County, Florida. It was in force for 34 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 24, 1989, 4:56 PM EST (21:56 UTC)
Expired
Mar 24, 1989, 5:30 PM EST
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Miami, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Broward County, FL

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Key West, FL (KEYW), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 218 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, Key West, FL at 12:00Z on 1989-03-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 595 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Key West, FL at 12:00Z on 1989-03-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 24 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
595 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-23 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
918 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
26 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMIA 242158
TORMIA
FLC011-242230-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
456 PM EST FRI MAR 24 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIAMI HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  530 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
          ...EAST CENTRAL BROWARD
 
PUBLIC REPORTS FUNNEL CLOUD TOUCHED DOWN IN EAST CENTRAL BROWARD
COUNTY AT AROUND 4:50 PM. THIS TORNADO IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST
AT 15 MPH. THE PUBLIC IS ADVISED TO TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY. THE
LOCATION OF THE TOUCHDOWN WAS NEAR OAKLAND PARK BLVD AND I-95.
 
IF YOUR ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO..THE SAFEST PLACE IS UNDER A
PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.
USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.  DEADLY
LIGHTNING..HAIL..AND VERY HEAVY RAIN ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN THIS STORM.
 
BOATERS SHOULD SEEK SAFE HARBOR.

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 24, 3:31 PM EST, 1 hour 25 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
325 PM EST FRI MAR 24 1989

A SMALL CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING OFFSHORE EASTERN
DADE COUNTY INTO BISCAYNE BAY. BOATERS IN THESE WATERS ARE ADVISED
THAT THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY BE ACCOMPANIED BY VERY HEAVY
RAINFALL...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...ROUGH SEAS...AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING.

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS...ATTENDED BY
VERY HEAVY RAINFALL...CONTINUED FROM JUST OFFSHORE THE SOUTHEAST
COAST TO THE NORTHERN BAHAMAS. OTHERS ALSO CONTINUED OVER THE
PENINSULA FROM NORTH OF FORT MYERS TO SOUTH DADE COUNTY
AS WELL AS OVER THE WATERS NORTH OF THE LOWER KEYS.

MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 10 MILES AN HOUR.

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.