Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 79, NWS Mobile, AL

June 8, 1989Escambia County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 8, 1989, 2:16 PM CDT for Escambia County, Alabama. It was in force for 44 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Jun 8, 1989, 2:16 PM CDT (19:16 UTC)
Expired: Jun 8, 1989, 3:00 PM CDT
In force: 44 min
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Whole counties

County Escambia County, AL

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

Centreville/Bibb, AL (KCKL), launched 12:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 197 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 96 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -32 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 705 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 76 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 18 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 KMOB 081917
SVRMOB
ALC053-082000-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
216 PM CDT THU JUN 8 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  300 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA
          ...ESCAMBIA
 
AT 215 PM CDT A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED JUST WEST OF BAY
MINETTE MOVING TOWARD THE EAST AT 50 MPH. THIS STORM HAS PRODUCED
WIND DAMAGE ACROSS MOBILE COUNTY AND IS LIKELY CAUSING DAMAGE IN
BALDWIN COUNTY NOW.
 
 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA.  REMEMBER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.  REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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, Jun 8, 8:52 AM CDT, 5 hours 24 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENSACOLA FL
840 AM CDT THU JUN 8 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 PM CDT FOR BALDWIN AND MOBILE
COUTIES ALABAMA AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS.

AT 830 AM CDT...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE PART OF AN EXTENSIVE RAIN
AREA WHICH COVERS MUCH OF EXTREME SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI...SOUTH ALABAMA
...THE WEST 2/3 OF THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND ADJACENT COSATAL WATERS.

SOME OF THE HEAVIER STORMS WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WITH SOME
STREET FLOODING...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING.

Special weather statement, Jun 8, 9:15 AM CDT, 5 hours 1 minute before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND MARINE STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
915 AM CDT THU JUN 8 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI AND
   SOUTHWEST ALABAMA AND THE MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA COASTAL
   WATERS UNTIL 2 PM CDT...

AT 910 PM THE MOBILE RADAR INDICATED NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS COVERING ALL OF SOUTHWEST ALABAMA.  THUNDERSTORMS
WERE MORE SCATTERED OVER SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI.  ALL THE STORMS
WERE MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

FURTHER TO THE WEST...OVER LOUISIANA AND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI...A VERY
INTENSE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM JUST EAST OF MCCOMB MISSISSIPPI
TO THE COAST EAST OF LAKE CHARLES WAS MOVING TOWARD TH;E EAST.
SEVERAL TORNADOES HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS LINE.

RESIDENTS OF SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI AND SOUTHWEST ALABAMA SHOULD
REMAIN ALERT FOR THE POSSIBLITY OF SEVERE WEATHER TODAY.

Local storm report, Jun 8, 10:56 AM CDT, 3 hours 20 minutes before

ATTN SELS
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1055 AM CDT THU JUN 8 1989

TIME      CO/STATE         EVENT
951AM     BALDWIN/AL       TORNADO REPORTED AT BEAR POINT IN ORANGE
                           BEACH WITH PROPERTY DAMAGE.  REPORTED BY
                           GULF SHORES PD.

955AM     BALDWIN/AL       TORNADO REPORTED AT LILLIAN.  MOBILE HOME
                           UNROOFED...OTHER PROPERTY DAMAGE.
                           UNCONFIRMED REPORT OF INJURIES.  BALDWIN
                           EMA IS ENROUTE TO THE SCENE.

Local storm report, Jun 8, 11:55 AM CDT, 2 hours 21 minutes before

ATTN SELS
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1155 AM CDT THU JUN 8 1989

TIME      CO/STATE         EVENT
955AM     BALDWIN/AL       UPDATE ON TORNADO AT LILLIAN...BALDWIN EMA
                           REPORTS EXTENSIVE DAMAGE WITH INJURIES AT
                           BEAR POINT MOBILE HOME PARK.  RESIDENTS ARE
                           NOW BEING EVACUATED TO SHELTERS AND THE MAYOR
                           HAS REQUESTED ASSISTANCE.  THE NUMBER AND
                           SEVEREITY OF INJURIES IS NOT KNOWN AT THIS
                           TIME BUT INDICATIONS ARE THERE WERE NO
                           SERIOUS.   WILL SEND UPDATES AS INFORMAMTION
             z              BECOMES AVAILABLE.

Special weather statement, Jun 8, 12:13 PM CDT, 2 hours 3 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
12 NOON CDT THU JUN 8 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI AND
   SOUTHWEST ALABAMA AND THE MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA COASTAL
   WATERS UNTIL 2 PM CDT...

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...

WHILE NO WARNINGS ARE CURRENTLY IN EFFECT...THE ATMOSPHERE IS VERY
UNSTABLE AND A WARNING MAY BE REQUIRED AT ANY TIME.

WEATHER SERVICE RADARS INDICATE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY OVER
SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...WITH A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER
SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA MOVING TOWARD HANCOCK COUNTY MISSISSIPPI.  A
WARNING MAY BE REQUIRED FOR THIS COUNTY WITHIN THE HOUR.
THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

RAINFALL AMOUNTS HAVE TOTALLED 2 TO 3 INCHES SINCE MIDNIGHT...HENCE
A FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED.  RESIDENTS SHOULD WATCH FOR
RISING WATER AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A SAFE LOCATION QUICKLY.
SOME AREAS MAY RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL 2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAINFALL THIS
AFTERNOON.

AS A RESULT OF STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS...TIDES HAVE RISEN ALONG THE
ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI COASTS.  THE TIDE IS NOW 3 FEET ABOVE NORMAL
AT THE MOUTH OF MOBILE RIVER.  SOME TIDAL FLOODING MAY OCCUR ALONG
COASTAL HIGHWAYS AND ROADS.  THE HIGH TIDES WILL ALSO RETARD DRAINAGE
OF THE HEAVY RAINFALL.

RESIDENTS OF SOUTHWEST ALABAMA AND SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI SHOULD REMAIN
ALERT FOR WEATHER EVENTS THIS AFTERNOON.  THIS IS A STRONG WEATHER
SYSTEM AND THERE IS A RATHER HIGH PROBABILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Mobile, AL issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 7, 8:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Houston	66 min
Jun 8, 9:46 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	MOB	Baldwin	29 min
Jun 8, 10:17 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	MOB	Baldwin	28 min
Jun 8, 10:41 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Mobile	49 min
Jun 8, 11:09 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	MOB	Baldwin	36 min
Jun 8, 1:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Mobile	49 min
Jun 8, 1:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin	47 min
Jun 8, 2:30 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MOB	Baldwin	45 min
Jun 8, 3:41 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Mobile	4 hr
Jun 8, 4:48 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MOB	Baldwin	27 min
Jun 8, 6:45 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MOB	Baldwin	45 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 1989 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.