Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 52, NWS Twin Cities, MN

May 30, 1989Eau Claire County, Wisconsin

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 30, 1989, 3:47 PM CDT for Eau Claire County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 43 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
May 30, 1989, 3:47 PM CDT (20:47 UTC)
Expired
May 30, 1989, 4:30 PM CDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area
Whole counties

County Eau Claire County, WI

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 30, 3:51 PM CDTHail 0.75Eau Claire, WI

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

Minneapolis, MN (KSTC), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 183 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 1989-05-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 1989-05-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 121 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
NaN m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
121 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
165 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 KMSP 302049
SVRMSP
WIC035-302130-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MINNEAPOLIS MN
347 PM CDT TUE MAY 30 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MINNEAPOLIS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  430 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN
          ...EAU CLAIRE
 
AT 345 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES SOUTH
SOUTHWEST OF THE THE CITY OF EAU CLAIRE IN WESTERN WISCONSIN. THE
STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 35 MILES AN HOUR AND SHOULD MOVE
SOUTH OF THE CITY OF EAU CLAIRE AND AFFECT THE TOWNS OF FALL CREEK AND L 
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

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, May 30, 9:51 AM CDT, 5 hours 56 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MINNEAPOLIS/ST PAUL MN
950 AM CDT MON MAY 29 1989

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 356 HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES OF SOUTHCENTRAL MINNESOTA....WATONWAN..MARTIN..BLUE EARTH..
WASECA..AND FARIBAULT.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 356 CONTINUES UNTIL NOON FOR PARTS OF
SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA.  THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE SOUTH AND EAST OF
ROCHESTER.  THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER STIL~L EXISTS WITH
THESE STORMS.
BRANCH
Special weather statement, May 30, 10:42 AM CDT, 5 hours 5 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MINNEAPOLIS/ST PAUL MN
1035 AM CDT TUE MAY 30 1989

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CDT FOR A SMALL
   PART OF SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...

AN AREA OF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WAS LOCATED ACROSS
SECTIONS OF SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA..AND EXTENDED INTO A LARGE PORTION
OF WEST CENTRAL AND WESTERN WISCONSIN.

ONE THUNDERSTORM JUST SOUTHEAST OF ROCHESTER PRODUCED MARBLE SIZED
HAIL..NEAR THE MARION REST STOP ALONG INTERSTATE 90 AND HIGHWAY 52.
THIS HAIL OCCURRED AROUND 1025 AM CDT.

THE GENERAL AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAD DECREASED IN
INTENSITY SINCE 930 AM CDT. THIS AREA WAS LOCATED TO THE SOUTH AND
EAST OF A LINE FROM EAU CLAIRE WISCONSIN TO OWATONNA MINNESOTA.

MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.
Special weather statement, May 30, 10:45 AM CDT, 5 hours 2 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MINNEAPOLIS/ST PAUL MN
1035 AM CDT TUE MAY 30 1989

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CDT FOR A SMALL
   PART OF SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...

AT 1025 AM CDT..AN AREA OF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WAS LOCATED
ACROSS SECTIONS OF SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA..AND EXTENDED INTO A LARGE PORTION
OF WEST CENTRAL AND WESTERN WISCONSIN.

ONE THUNDERSTORM JUST SOUTHEAST OF ROCHESTER PRODUCED MARBLE SIZED
HAIL..NEAR THE MARION REST STOP ALONG INTERSTATE 90 AND HIGHWAY 52.
THIS HAIL OCCURRED AROUND 1025 AM CDT.

THE GENERAL AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAD DECREASED IN
INTENSITY SINCE 930 AM CDT. THIS AREA WAS LOCATED TO THE SOUTH AND
EAST OF A LINE FROM EAU CLAIRE WISCONSIN TO OWATONNA MINNESOTA.

MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Twin Cities, MN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 29, 8:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXEau Claire25 min
May 29, 10:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXPepin32 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Wisconsin, 1989Every 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.