Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Twin Cities, MN

May 24, 1989Le Sueur County, Rice County, Waseca County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this tornado warning at May 24, 1989, 6:08 PM CDT for Le Sueur County, Rice County, Waseca County, Minnesota. It was in force for 37 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 24, 1989, 6:08 PM CDT (23:08 UTC)
Expired
May 24, 1989, 6:45 PM CDT
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Le Sueur County, MN, Rice County, MN, Waseca County, MN

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 24, 6:40 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 0Rice, MN

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, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 67 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 1989-05-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 134 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 1989-05-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 189 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
134 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-631 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1132 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
189 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
211 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 KRST 242309
TORRST
MNC079-131-161-242345-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROCHESTER MN
608 PM CDT WED MAY 24 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ROCHESTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  645 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA
          ...SOUTHEASTERN LE SUEUR...WESTERN RICE
          ...NORTHEASTERN WASECA
 
...THIS TORNADO WARNING INCLUDES THE TOWNS OF WATERVILLE...WARSAW...
AND WASECA MINNESOTA...
 
WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO AT 6PM CDT NEAR THE TOWN
OF LE CENTER MINNESOTA...19 MILES NORTHEAST OF MANKATO MINNESOTA.
THE STORM IS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 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.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  iAVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 23, 7:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXDodge, Olmsted42 min
May 23, 7:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXFaribault, Martin38 min
May 23, 8:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXCarver, Hennepin, Wright51 min
May 23, 9:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXCarver, Hennepin49 min
May 24, 8:58 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXStearns47 min
May 24, 11:25 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXRedwood, Renville50 min
May 24, 11:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXRedwood, Renville47 min
May 24, 2:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXBenton, Morrison43 min
May 24, 4:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXDodge, Mower, Olmsted27 min
May 24, 4:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXWinona36 min
May 24, 5:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXCarver, McLeod51 min
May 24, 5:17 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXSibley58 min
May 24, 5:23 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXCarver67 min
May 24, 5:23 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXScott52 min
May 24, 5:33 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXLe Sueur, Nicollet42 min
May 24, 6:30 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXBlue Earth, Faribault, Waseca30 min
May 24, 6:30 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXFreeborn30 min
May 24, 6:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXGoodhue38 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 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.