Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Nashville, TN

May 22, 1989Giles County, Lawrence County, Tennessee

NWS Nashville, TN issued this tornado warning at May 22, 1989, 8:20 PM CDT for Giles County, Lawrence County, Tennessee. It was in force for 55 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 22, 1989, 8:20 PM CDT (01:20 UTC)
Expired
May 22, 1989, 9:15 PM CDT
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Nashville, TN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Giles County, TN, Lawrence County, TN

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 22, 8:37 PM CDTTornado F2Giles, TN

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

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 116 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1989-05-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 493 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1989-05-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 171 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
493 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1270 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
171 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
245 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
3.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBNA 230124
TORBNA
TNC055-099-230215-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
820 PM CDT MON MAY 22 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  915 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE
          ...GILES...LAWRENCE
 
WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO IN SOUTHERN LAWRENCE COUNTY
MOVING EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.
 
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.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Tennessee, 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.